Changes
by Carrie88
Summary: Post AC; Tifa discovers that not all the remnants are dead, but he doesn't seem to be the same. Is it all an act or does he truly not remember anything? And whose voice is he hearing? Rating has changed.
1. Familiar Face

Author's Note: So, I've got a few oneshots under my belt, so I thought I would try a chaptered fic. I'm hoping to keep everyone in character as much as possible, but don't be surprised to see some OOC behavior. ;) I'll try to update regularly, so enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

Changes

Chapter 1

Cloud looked at the clock and sighed. There were never enough hours in the day. He often found himself wondering how Tifa had managed to keep everything running so smoothly when he had been gone so often. Guilt stabbed his heart at the memory of being so selfish by running away and leaving her there to run his delivery service, keep the bar open and turning a profit all the while keeping Marlene and Denzel safe, clothed, and fed. He shook his head and forced the guilt down. Tifa had assured him that everything was forgiven and that she understood why he had to leave so often.

"Cloud, don't forget that you promised Marlene and Denzel you would take them to visit Yuffie in Wutai after you pick them up from Barrett," Tifa said as she skipped down the stairs. She smiled at the look on his face. "Don't worry, Cloud. Vincent is going to meet you there so you'll have someone to brood with."

Cloud smiled slightly. "My brooding days are over, Tifa…but I'll be glad to have someone to talk to who isn't as hyper as Yuffie."

She nodded and smiled. "Barrett said he may go with you to Wutai if everything works out, so enjoy yourself. Stay as long as you want. I can handle everything here."

"Are you sure?" Cloud asked doubtfully. "I think I've let you handle everything here by yourself for far too long."

"But this is different, Cloud," she assured him. "You aren't running away."

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve a friend like you," Cloud said.

"You're just saying that so I take your bike in for that estimate while your gone," she teased lightly.

"That too," he said. "Listen, I'm going to head out then. You know, you could always join us in Wutai if we stay longer than we plan. You need a break too."

"What about the bar?" Tifa asked. "Money doesn't grow on trees, Cloud."

"A few days won't kill the finances of this place," Cloud assured her. "Besides, Reno will be suffering some major withdrawal effects after not getting to drink and hit on you for more than twenty-four hours so by the time we return, he'll probably drop enough cash to cover our time away."

Tifa laughed and smiled. "That's true. Let me know if you'll be staying on longer and I'll let you know if I can make it."

"That's deal," Cloud said as he picked up his bag and head for the door. He stopped and turned back to face Tifa once more. "And Tifa? If you call, I promise I'll answer."

Tifa smiled as she watched him walk out the door. "I know you will."

Tifa pulled up in front of the shop and dismounted Fenrir. She walked into the shop reception area and smiled at the man behind the counter.

"Well, if it isn't Tifa Lockheart," he said with a smile.

"It been a while, Gus," she said happily.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"Well, Cloud wanted an estimate on some repairs for Fenrir," Tifa explained. It got pretty banged up in that last battle. Plus, he was hoping to see if some kind of storage area could be added for some of our smaller delivery items."

Gus nodded thoughtfully. "I'm sure we could do that. I'll send my new body guy out to have a look at the damage and see if we can come up with an estimate for you."

"You have a new body guy?" Tifa asked. "It's been a while since you took on any new apprentices."

Gus smiled. "Well, that last attack by that huge creature damaged a _lot_ of cars and bikes Tifa! I have been running around like a chocobo with its head cut off since then! It became too much work for just me and my son to keep up with. Actually, Jake is the one who found him. It was the weirdest thing he said. This guy was in the wastelands fixing his bike. It was almost as though he had just been dropped there out of nowhere."

Tifa frowned. "That is weird."

"I know," Gus said. "But the guy is amazing with bikes. He does customizations that neither Jake nor I ever even thought of! I think Cloud will be happy with any work my guy comes up with."

"That's perfect," Tifa said as she turned towards the door. "I'll wait for him outside then."

"Sure thing," Gus replied. "He'll be there in just a moment."

Tifa nodded and walked out to wait for the new guy. She looked at all the scratches on Fenrir and shook her head. It had taken quite the beating and she was anxious to see it returned to its natural pristine shape.

"Hey Tifa! Long time no see!" Jake called from behind her.

She turned with a smile on her face, but she froze when she saw the other man walking beside him. She immediately flashed back to the church.

_"You wanna play" his deep voice rumbled. "I guess that's a no."_

She made eye contact with his eerie mako green eyes, but noticed they seemed different. The catlike slits were gone, replaced with normal pupils. He looked back at her but showed no sign of recognition of her.

"Tifa? Hey, Teef, you okay?" Jake's voice cut through her thoughts.

She shook her head and looked back at him. "Sorry, Jake. I was lost in a memory."

"That's okay," he said with a bright smile. "So, dad told you about our find here huh?"

Tifa again looked at the silver-haired man and nodded. "Yes."

"Well, this is Loz," Jake said as he turned to look up at the man beside him. "Loz, this is Tifa. She owns that bar I was telling you about."

He inclined his head. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she murmured as she noticed his discomfort with polite conversation.

"So what does Cloud want done?" Jake asked.

Tifa again noted no sign of recognition on Loz's face at the mention of Cloud. She turned her attention to Jake again. "He would like all the damage to the body repaired, but he was hoping to have some sort of concealed storage areas added too, if that's possible."

Loz knelt beside the bike and frowned as he looked at it. He popped out the storage for the blades Cloud normally carried with him and nodded as he got to his feet. He turned and looked down at Tifa.

"Is it for more swords or other weapons?" he asked.

Tifa involuntarily shivered as his voice prodded at her memories of him. She could almost feel the stinging jolt from his Dual Hound. She managed to find her voice and shook her head. "It's for medium packages. Cloud does deliveries and needs a place for the smaller packages."

"It's doable," Loz eventually said. He smirked and looked down at Jake. "This is going to be a fun bike to work on."

"Fenrir has always been my favorite custom we've done," Jake said. He smiled at Tifa. "We'll take it in and have a good look at it before we price it out for you. I'll give you a call in about an hour, okay?"

She nodded, anxious to get away from Loz so she could figure out what to do. "Okay, I'll be at the bar."

"Do you need a ride Teef?" Jake asked as she began to walk away. "I'm sure Loz could give you a lift."

"No!" she said quickly causing both men to raise their eyebrows in surprise. "I just…I need the walk and it's nice out. Call me when you have a price!"

She hurried away while trying not to look like she was running away. Once she was out of sight, she leaned against a nearby wall and took a few deep breaths. One of the remnants was back! He didn't seem to remember her though. Were they all back? Was Sephiroth only a breath away from returning? There were so many thoughts running through her head.

"What am I going to do?" she asked herself.

Author's Note part 2: So, first chapter! Hopefully it's interesting enough to pique your curiosity and Chapter 2 should be up soon!


	2. To Tell or Not to Tell

Author's Note: Here's another chapter! Writing chaptered stories are a labor of love indeed…one that I am not used to! So I hope everyone's enjoying it thus far.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

Chapter 2

Tifa stared at the phone still debating whether she should tell Cloud about Loz's return. He seemed harmless, but she didn't trust him. It could all be an act, though from what she had seen in the church, deception wasn't his style. He was more of an in-your-face kind of guy.

She was startled out of her thoughts when the phone she was staring at suddenly rang. She reached out and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Tifa? It's Jake."

"Hi Jake," she said as she took a deep breath. "Do you have a price for me yet?"

"I sure do," he answered. "For everything, Cloud is looking at forty-five hundred gil. That includes the labor."

Tifa's heart nearly stopped at the price, but it was within the amount Cloud had told her to expect. "Okay, Cloud left enough for that. So when do you think it will be done?"

"Tomorrow evening," Jake said with a smile. "I've gotta get back to work, but I'm going to stop by for a drink later. I'll see you tonight, Teef."

"Yeah, I'll see you then," she answered.

She replaced the phone in its cradle and sighed. Everything had been going so well. Why did one of Sephiroth's remnants have to come back? Couldn't they all have a little peace for a while? She picked up the phone and began dialing Cloud's cell phone number, but stopped and slammed the phone down again. Calling Cloud wouldn't do anything except ruin his well-deserved vacation and bring him rushing back to protect her. She didn't need any protection anyway. She had held her own against him in the church, until he had cheated with his materia-enhanced speed and the strange weapon he wore on his arm. Plus, Reno and Rude had been regular fixtures at Seventh Heaven since they had all worked together to stop the reunion so if anything did happen, she would have them as backup.

She sighed as she looked at the clock. She had a lot of work to do before opening the bar and it wouldn't get done by itself, so she had to put her concerns on ice until later.

* * *

The bar was busy, even for the end of the week. Tifa was happily run off her feet as she chatted with customers and served drinks.

"Hey babe! What's shakin'?"

Tifa turned and smiled at Reno when he dropped himself into a stool in front of her. He and Rude had been there for a while and when Reno was drinking as much as he was this night, he became a shameless flirt.

"Not much, Reno," she said as she wiped her hands on a towel. "You want another of the usual?"

"You got it!" he said with a wink.

"How about you, Rude?" she asked.

"Another whisky, please," he answered as he sat in the stool beside his partner.

"So, are you both worn out from a hard week of industrial espionage and assassinations?" she said with smirk.

Reno grabbed his chest dramatically. "Babe! We don't do that kind of thing! Well…not anymore, that is. We're legit now and let me tell you, being legit is _way_ more work!"

"And you know how lazy he is," Rude said dryly as he sipped the whisky Tifa had put in front of him.

"Rude, how could you?" Reno asked plaintively. "We're supposed to be friends!"

Tifa laughed and shook her head. She was about to say something when she noticed Jake enter the bar…with Loz.

Reno noticed the look on her face and turned to see what it was that had caused her pale so dramatically.

"Ah. I see you've noticed our friend there, huh?" he asked dryly.

"You _know_ about him?" she asked as previous distrust began to flare.

Reno could see the familiar look in her eyes. "It's not as bad as you think, babe, I swear!" He could see she didn't believe him, so he leaned in closer to her. "Listen, we were doing our usual 'clean up' after Cloud's last battle with Sephiroth and when we were leaving, we found that one by his motorcycle like he _hadn't_ just been blown to smithereens by a materia-induced explosion! The president had us bring him back to Healen and he had him all checked out. He doesn't remember anything!"

"What about the Sephiroth gene that allowed Kadaj to summon Sephiroth?" Tifa asked.

"It seems as though the Lifestream nullified its power," Rude said. "I assume you've looked him in the eye?"

She nodded. "Yeah and they're just as creepy as they ever were."

"Creepy, yeah," Reno said. "But they're not _Sephiroth's_ eyes. They're creepy green…just like Cloud's are creepy blue."

"What do you mean?" she asked as she shook her head.

"When the scientists were checking him out, they said he reads like the SOLDIER recruits did once they had been exposed to the Jenova cells," Rude explained. "Without his memories and the Sephiroth gene dormant, he doesn't appear to be a threat."

"In other words, he's like Cloud," Reno said with a smirk. "Just less moody than Spikey."

Tifa couldn't stop the smile that formed. "He's getting better Reno."

The redhead smirked and snorted. "Took the dude long enough."

Tifa laughed, but it slowly died in her throat when Loz sat beside Reno. She cleared her throat and smiled tightly. "What can I get you?"

"Whisky," he said before looking at the two Turks. "Haven't seen you two in a while. Did you finally stop following me?"

"We weren't following you," Reno protested. "We were just making sure you didn't get into any trouble, that's all."

Loz smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure you follow _every_ stranger you meet, right?"

"Something like that," Rude said dryly.

Tifa put Loz's drink in front of him and watched him take a sip. He watched her stare at him while he stared right back at her. Reno noticed the tension and cleared his throat.

"So, I hear you're working at Axel's Custom Bikes," he said. "Got anything interesting on the go there?"

"Just the bike Tifa brought in," Loz said. "It's one of the boss' favorite customs apparently."

Reno nearly choked on his vodka. "_You're_ working on Fenrir?" He turned and looked at Tifa. "Does Spikey know Sideburns here is touching his precious Fenrir?"

"It's not a big deal, Reno," she said as she glared at him.

"Who's Spikey?" Loz asked.

"The moody son of a bitch that owns that bike," Reno said.

Loz nodded and looked up at Tifa. "Boyfriend?"

She blushed and shook her head. "Not really. He's a…roommate."

Reno again nearly choked on his drink. Rude slapped his back as he coughed slightly. "Roommate?"

"Reno, do you want a kick in the ass?" Tifa bit out.

He smirked as he looked her up and down. "Babe, you can pretty much do whatever you want to me."

Rude winced before grabbing Reno by the back of his neck. "I think it's time we head out. Unless you need us to stay a little longer."

Tifa knew he was referring to how she felt about Loz being there. She smiled and shook her head. "No, I'll be fine," she assured him. "Don't forget to force-feed Reno plenty of water so he won't be anymore useless to you tomorrow than he usually is."

"Don't worry, I will," he said with a smirk.

"Hey, I'm not useless," Reno protested before grinning. "I'll miss you, Teef!"

She shook her head. "Reno, you'll be back tomorrow like you always are!"

Loz watched Rude and Reno leave before looking back at her. "Is he always like that?"

She shrugged and smiled slightly. "Pretty much."

"He's interesting," Loz said as he watched her scoop up tips left by previous customers while gathering empty glasses off the bar at the same time. "He was nice to me when I met them."

Tifa looked up at the thoughtful look on his face. "He was?"

He nodded. "The others that were there were all civil to me, but…"

"But what?" she asked with a frown.

"I don't know," he said as he shook his head. "It was almost like they all knew something about me, but no one wanted to talk about it."

She was about to say something when Jake walked up beside Loz.

"Hey Tifa," he said with a smile before looking at Loz. "I'm going to head out. You need a ride?"

Loz shook his head. "I'll be fine."

Jake smiled and handed Tifa some money. "No change, Tifa. I'll call you tomorrow when Fenrir is ready."

She smiled and nodded. "Thanks Jake."

Loz stayed for the rest of the night. He kept to himself and didn't try to engage Tifa in any more conversation. He seemed to be content to just watch the people around him. He watched the few bar fights that broke out and smirked when Tifa had to throw the troublemakers out. He admired her strength and the fact that she wasn't going to let anyone else run her bar and if that meant kicking out a paying customer, then so be it. He found himself wishing that she didn't look at him like everyone else did.

Tifa looked at the clock and decided it was time to close up. "Okay everyone! It's time to drink up and pay up because this piece of heaven is about to close up!"

Her patrons all moaned, but one by one they all finished their drinks and paid before filing out. Occasionally a few would glare at Loz, but he just glared right back. A couple of times a small group of men would crowd around him, trying to unnerve him, but he ignored them and focused on finishing his drink. Even though the silver haired man was no friend of hers, she detested testosterone driven bullying and rested a hand on the counter.

"Can I help you guys with anything or are all of you trying to compete for this handsome guy's phone number?" she sweetly asked a particularly large angry looking group of men that had gathered beside Loz.

She smirked as they all straightened up and muttered under their breaths about meeting him outside. Once Loz was the only one left, she locked the door and switched off the 'open' sign. When she turned to look at him again he was already on his feet and walking towards her.

"I left enough to cover my tab on the bar," he said.

"Thanks," she said. She waited for a moment before taking a deep breath. "Do you want to stay for a bit until that group of overgrown boys leaves?"

"I can handle them," he said with a shrug.

"I know you can," she said. "But there are six of them and just one of you. Plus, they already seem to hate you. Do you think it's a good idea to antagonize them further?"

He smirked slightly. "Probably not. I didn't think you'd want me hanging around you though now that we're alone."

She frowned slightly as she walked around him back towards the bar. "What makes you say that?"

He snorted as he rolled his eyes. "You practically ran down the street after you dropped the bike off and when I came in here tonight, you looked at me as though I was supposed to be dead. What did I do to you?"

"Are you sure…?"

"Everyone seems to hate me," he said as he sat down on the stool he had been sitting on for most of the night. "You are no different."

Tifa looked at him and felt guilty. If he really had no memory of his past, was it fair for her to hold a grudge? If the Lifestream sent him back, surely he had a purpose or at least deserved another chance at life.

"Do you _really_ not remember anything of your past?" she asked.

He shrugged and shook his head. "All I know is what President Shinra told me."

"And that was…what, exactly?" she asked, curious to hear what tale Rufus had spun for the remnant.

"He just said that I had worked with a couple of other guys to facilitate a 'reunion' with someone we all called 'mother'," he said with a frown. "I have no idea who 'mother' is and I have no memories of any other guys or anything before Reno and Rude finding me. Apparently, I should already know them too. They mentioned something about shooting at their helicopter."

Tifa was startled out of his story by the phone ringing. She sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Tifa, it's me," Cloud said on the other end. "I figured you would be closing the bar, so I thought I'd give you a call. The kids miss you…I miss you too."

"I miss you guys too," she said with a smile.

"Are you planning on joining us in Wutai?" he asked.

Tifa looked at Loz who was just looking around at his surroundings, apparently not listening to her conversation.

"Tifa?" Cloud said with a frown in voice. "Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry," she said as she shook her head. "I just zoned out. The bar's busy and you deserve some quality time with the kids. They've really missed you."

"Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Cloud asked doubtfully.

Tifa looked at Loz again before smiling and saying, "Everything's fine, Cloud."

"Okay," he said reluctantly. "If you change your mind, just give me a call."

She smiled and nodded. "I will, I promise. Good night, Cloud."

"Good night, Tifa."

Loz looked at her once she had hung up the phone. "I think it's okay for me to head out."

Tifa nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow when I pick the bike up."

"Sure," Loz said as he walked over to the door and unlocked it. "Thanks for the talk."

"That's just part of my job description," she said with a nervous smile.

He just nodded and walked out the door. She again locked the door behind him and leaned against the wall. She had to find out if he was lying or if he really had lost his memory. She pushed away from the wall and headed up the stairs, extinguishing lights as she went. She had to be sure for herself before she told Cloud anything. Tomorrow she would come up with a plan to figure out what the truth was regarding his memories, but for tonight, she would sleep. She was going to need all the rest she could get.


	3. Truth or Lies

Author's Note: I seem to be on a roll!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

Chapter 3

Cloud paced the borrowed room as he turned his options over in his head. Obviously, he could return to Edge and find out if Tifa was really okay or if she was putting on a front. Or he could just trust her when she said everything was fine. He wanted to believe her, but she just hadn't seemed…right.

"Wearing a hole in the carpet won't help you," Vincent said from the doorway.

Cloud sighed irritably. "I know, but I don't know what else to do. Tifa insists that she's fine, but I don't know if I believe her."

"Why would she lie to you?" Vincent asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Maybe she's just used to me not be available to rely on."

"You are starting to sound like the old you," Vincent noted. "I thought you had decided that sins _can_ be forgiven."

"They can," Cloud said as he faced Vincent. "But sometimes it takes a little more time than others. I left Tifa to fend for herself and the kids for a long time. Maybe she's used to me being unavailable."

"Cloud, it's different this time," Vincent said as he kept his eyes on his friend.

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked with a frown.

"Tifa's not dead," he said bluntly. "You don't have to wonder how she feels or if she forgives you. You can talk to her face to face."

Cloud frowned and nodded. "You're right. Sometimes I forget I've known her since we were kids. She is one of the easiest people to talk to."

"Then maybe you should talk to her," Vincent said. "Yuffie will still be here and is happy to see the children any time you bring them. If Edge is where you need to be, she will understand, Cloud."

He nodded and smiled just slightly. "Thanks Vincent."

* * *

Tifa entered the body shop and smiled when Jake looked up. "So Fenrir's ready?"

He nodded and smiled. "It sure is. Listen, I have to make a run up to a parts dealer, so I have to go, but Loz can show you everything he's done. Did you pay dad?"

She nodded. "I just settled up with him."

"Okay, so if you just go straight to the back, you'll find Loz," Jake said. "I'll see you later, Tifa."

She squared her shoulders and walked towards the back of the shop. With a plan to test his memories in place, she confidently went in search of the remnant. She found him exactly where Jake had said he'd be in the back of shop. He was counting various parts and making a list of what they needed. In a pair of blue jeans and a plain black t-shirt, she could see all the muscles his leather suit had minimized when she had first seen him. No wonder he was so strong. She cleared her throat to announce her presence and he turned to face her.

"Hey," he said. "You here for the bike?"

She nodded. "Jake had to run out and Gus is busy in the office. I hear it looks great."

He smirked and nodded. "Like I said, it was a fun bike to work on. Come on, it's out back."

She followed him and had to admit, he knew bikes. Fenrir looked brand new with a new coat of paint and all the dents banged out. She watched him flip a new switch causing the concealed storage he had added to slide open in the back. She stepped forward and inspected the new addition. She turned and smiled up at him.

"That's perfect," she said.

"I'm glad you like it," he responded. "I tuned up the engine while I was in there too and did an oil change."

"That's great," she said as she flipped the switch herself to close the storage. "Jake and Cloud always take Fenrir for a test drive after it's been in for any work. Since Jake's gone, would you mind coming with me?"

He shrugged. "Sure. I can finish this later. You want to drive?"

She nodded as she mounted Fenrir. "I hope you don't mind."

"It's you friend's bike," he said as he handed her the keys. "You'll know better than me if it's up to his standards."

She waited for him to get on behind her before starting the engine and heading out of the parking lot. She sped through the streets, noticing how balanced he was on the back of the bike. He seemed to only need to lightly hold on to her waist to maintain his balance.

She was purposely taking him along the highway where he had chased Cloud, trying to stop him from catching up with Kadaj and taking Jenova's remains away from them. If he was faking his memory loss, she was sure their trip down memory lane would give him away somehow…especially when they stopped in front of the church.

Tifa parked the bike and turned it off before lowering the kickstand. She felt Loz dismount and did the same herself before turning to face him. He was looking around them, but his face still remained blank. He turned when he felt her eyes on him.

"So, how was it?" he asked. "Do you think your friend will be happy?"

She nodded. "I think so. Do you mind if we stop here for a moment? I like to come here to clear my head sometimes."

He shrugged as he followed her into the building. "That's fine. It's pretty, but kind of run down though. I'd be concerned about the roof, or what's left of it, falling on my head."

"A friend of mine used to come here often," she said as she walked towards the pool of water that now sat where the flowers had been. "I think he did it to be close to another friend of ours who had died."

He nodded as he followed her further into the ruined building. Tifa turned and watched him as he looked around. The sound of his footsteps reminded her of the day she had met him. His greeting to her came back to her unbidden.

_"You wanna play? I guess that's a no."_

Tifa shook her head as she remembered the malicious glint in his eyes as he had stalked her, moving closer to her with every heavy step, only to be stopped by the smell of flowers. He had sniffed the air and was disgusted by the floral scent that hung in the air. She looked back at him and froze when she saw that same look of disgust cross his face. He was looking down at what remained of the flowers and made a face.

"Gross," he muttered.

"I knew it," she said accusingly. "I _knew_ you hadn't lost your memory!"

He looked up at her and frowned. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"You did the same thing the first time I met you!" she said as she took up a defensive stance.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "I just don't like the smell of flowers! That's it. Damn it! I hate this!"

Tifa stopped for a moment and looked at him. "What?"

He rounded on her quickly and narrowed his eyes. "Everyone knows something and it makes them hate me! I have no idea what I did, but it's obviously something really bad! I am trying to ignore the glares, the stares, and the whispers, but I'm not an idiot! I can hear what people are saying and I am getting fed up! I did something bad to you, right? Well, did I ever strike you as the kind of guy who would put on some elaborate ruse of losing my memory?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, you seemed more like a live in the moment kind of guy."

"Then why can't you believe me?" he asked angrily.

Tifa bit her lip and decided to try a new tactic. She decided to use his own words against him. "You wanna play?"

His brows drew together in a confused frown. "What? What are you talking about? First you bring me here, then you accuse me of lying to your face, apparently ready to fight me to the death or something, and now you want to play a game?"

Tifa could see the confusion in his eyes and knew that it was real. She straightened up and took a step towards him. As she got closer, she could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Some things never changed.

"I'm sorry," she said as she touched his arm. "When we first met, it was…pretty bad and I had a hard time believing you really didn't remember anything. But I believe you now and I really am sorry I upset you."

He looked down at her as he irritably rubbed the tears from his eyes. He nodded slightly. "It's okay. I'm…sorry I did something to you."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "To make it up to you, do you want to drive Fenrir back to edge?"

He perked up slightly at the opportunity to _really_ see what the machine could do. "Are you sure…uh, Spikey will be okay with it?"

Tifa laughed softly at his use of Cloud's nickname. "He'll be fine…unless he hears you call him Spikey. Come on, we should head back."

They both walked out of the church and mounted Fenrir. Loz started the engine and waited for Tifa to settle in behind him. He blushed slightly when he felt her hands grip his hips. She was a beautiful girl and somehow he knew he had always thought so…even before he lost his memories. It was a feeling he had in his gut and to feel her touching him just made him more aware of it. He wanted to know what he had done to her so he could fix it. If he could make everything right between them, maybe he wouldn't feel so awkward with her and maybe she could finally stop hating him.

As they sped along the highway, he began to have the feeling of déjà vu. He knew this was only the second time he had been on the highway, yet he felt as though he had done this before. He shook off the feeling and concentrated on the driving. The sun had almost set and it was making him aware of how exhausted he felt. That's what must be triggering the feeling of déjà vu, he reasoned. He wasn't unlocking any memories he was just tired.

The pulled up in front of the shop and he turned the powerful bike off, waiting for Tifa to dismount before doing so himself. He smiled and dropped the keys into her hand.

"Thanks for letting me drive," he said.

She smiled slightly. "I owed you one." She swung her leg over Fenrir and settled in the seat, but turned her head to look at him again. "I really am sorry about today. If you ever want to talk, just stop by. If the bar's closed, come around back. I just live upstairs."

"Are you sure it won't be too weird?" he asked doubtfully. "I mean, after everything you know I did? It must have been bad."

She smiled. "Well, it was, but you seem to have been given a second chance by the Lifestream. Who am I argue with such a powerful force?"

He smiled slightly and nodded. "I may take you up on that offer then."

"Good," she said. "I guess I'll see you later then."

He nodded and watched her go. His smile began to fade slightly as a feeling of foreboding overtook his heart.


	4. Nightmare

Author's Note: When inspiration hits, you gotta write….I hope this isn't an indicator that writer's block is in my future! My muse tends to have moments of ADHD. ;)

Special thanks to my reviewers too! Shynsei, I hope you are still enjoying it! And SakR9, I agree: Loz + being a motorbike repair guy = HOT! But he's already hot to start with. :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 4**

Tifa had just flipped on the open sign at Seventh Heaven when the door opened. She turned and smiled when she saw Reno.

"I know you said you were coming back today, but this is early," she said teasingly. "Even for you."

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm actually here on business."

Her smile faded slightly. "Uh-oh, that doesn't sound promising. What have I done to irritate Rufus _now_?"

"I'm sorry, but we had to tell him about your little trip to the church with Sideburns," he confessed.

"You were spying on me?" she asked incredulously.

"Aw, hell no," Reno said emphatically. "We don't spy on friends. But we do spy on former remnants, babe and you were with him. Listen, _I_ know you weren't trying to cause any problems, but if you keep poking around at his memories, they may just come back. And if they do come back, who knows what will happen. It may trigger his ridiculous need to find 'mother' again…or worse. What if having his memories back compels him to bring back Sephiroth? Do you really think Spikey can keep fighting that psycho and win every time?"

Tifa lowered her head and sighed. "You're right. I just couldn't believe he wasn't the same guy that kicked my ass in the church and kidnapped Marlene. I thought if I took him along the highway and to the church I could provoke a response that would prove he's lying."

Reno sat on a stool and rested his chin on his hand. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she said. "I guess he's really telling the truth. Go back to Rufus and tell him I won't do anything else to bring out his memories."

Reno smiled brightly and nodded as he got to his feet. "Thanks babe!"

"Oh, and Reno?" she said with a smirk when he turned to face her again. "Tell him that the next time he wants to issue any kind of warnings, he should come himself and _not_ send the biggest flirt in Edge."

He chuckled with a mock salute. "You got it, yo!"

* * *

Loz settled into bed, but couldn't get comfortable. He was still turning over everything that had happened between him and Tifa only a few hours ago. What had started out as a vague feeling of déjà vu was starting to turn into definite flashes of the past, but he still couldn't put it all together.

Her strange question still burned in his mind. _You wanna play?_ What the hell was that? It sounded familiar, but he was sure she _hadn't_ been the one who had asked the question. _Where's mother?_ He frowned as he shook his head. Who is mother? He closed his eyes again and turned onto his side. As soon as he closed his eyes, he pictured Tifa, but her faced was twisted in pain and it was as though he was looking down at her. A hand was holding her by the front of her shirt lifted her slightly off the ground. He sat up with a gasp. Who had hurt her like that? Was it him?

He flung the covers off and went into the bathroom, flipping on the light before turning on the cold water and splashing some across his heated face. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his palm to his forehead, willing the disjointed memories to go away.

_Don't fight it, Loz,_ a voice said.

He turned and looked behind him, searching for the voice. He waited for a moment, but there was no sound coming from anywhere in the apartment.

_I'm here to help you…there is nothing to fear from me,_ the voice said again.

Loz turned and looked at the mirror, startled to see a man with long silver hair standing behind him. The man smirked at his startled expression.

_It won't be long now until you're begging me to save you from this pathetic existence!_

Loz turned around sharply, but he was alone again. When he looked in the mirror over his shoulder, it showed only his reflection. He breathed a sigh of relief, but it turned into a groan. When he looked down, he could see the length of a long blade piercing him from behind and coming through his chest, the metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth as he dropped to his knees.

_All you are is a puppet,_ the voice said with a malicious smile coming through its deep tones. _You are nothing more than a remnant of a great man!_

Loz sat straight up in bed, gasping and frantically grabbing his chest where the sword had protruded from his chest. He flipped on the light beside his bed and visually confirmed the wound was non-existent. He breathed a sigh of relief before pushing himself to his feet and padding over to the bathroom, turning on the cold water to splash on his face. He sighed before drying his face once more, relieved that everything had been a dream. He smirked at his own vivid imagination and slowly returned to his bed.

His smirk disappeared when he saw a few black feathers resting on his bed. He frowned and picked them up only to have them dissolve into black dust that slipped through his fingers.

* * *

Tifa yawned as she turned the stools upside down and placed them on top of the bar before beginning the daunting task of sweeping the bar floor. She thought about what Reno had said to her about the unknown consequences of Loz regaining his memory. She could have kicked herself for not thinking of that in the first place. Well, it was Rufus Shinra's fault for not telling Cloud that one of Sephiroth's remnants had survived. If he's so harmless, why not tell Cloud of his existence? If Cloud had been the one to find him at the bike shop, he would have fought Loz and beaten his memories into him.

She jumped when there was a knock on the door. She mentally chided herself for being so damn jumpy and walked over to the door, ready to tell whomever it was to go away. She pulled the blinds back a little was surprised to see Loz standing there. She opened the door and smiled up at him.

"I'm surprised to see you here so late," she said as she stepped aside for him to enter.

"Oh…well, you said if I needed to talk I could…but yeah, it's late, so I should just head out," he said awkwardly.

Tifa reached out and touched his arm, pulling him into the bar and closing the door behind him. "I said to come over whenever you needed to so park your behind in one of those stools. Tomorrow's my day off so I can stay up as late as I want."

He looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," she said as she took a stool down and sat on it. "Come on."

He reluctantly pulled a stool down and sat beside her. "I had a really weird dream."

She frowned and nodded. "What was it about?"

"I was thinking about you," he admitted. "You asked me earlier if I wanted to play. It sounded so familiar and I couldn't get it out of my head. In my dream I saw you hurt and in pain. From my viewpoint, it was almost as though I was looking down at you. I got to my feet and splashed some water on my face, but then I heard a voice."

"What voice?" she asked nervously.

He shrugged. "I don't know who it was. I can't even remember what the person it belonged to looked like."

"You _saw_ the person who was talking to you?" Tifa asked.

Loz nodded. "I saw whoever it was in the mirror behind me, but when I turned around, I was all alone. What woke me up though was being stabbed. I looked down and a huge sword was sticking out of my chest. It felt so real that I actually had to check to make sure I didn't have an open wound on my chest!"

Tifa could see the tears pooling in the corners of his eyes and touched his arm gently. "You're fine now, though. It was only a dream."

Loz nodded. "But something else happened. When I woke up I went to the bathroom to calm down and when I returned to my bed…"

Tifa squeezed his arm lightly. "What about the bed?"

He sighed and shook his head. "It's too crazy to be real," he muttered. "There were feathers on my bed…three or four black feathers."

Tifa's world began to spin as an image of the one winged angel and fallen SOLDIER general, Sephiroth, flashed in her mind. She swallowed her fear and looked at Loz.

"Are you sure they weren't a left over product from your dream?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I touched them and they were real. Though, when I touched them they dissolved into black dust."

Tifa bit her lip and nodded. _What have I done? I've triggered memories of Sephiroth_, she berated herself. "Do you remember anything else about your dream?"

He shook his head and angrily wiped the tears from his eyes. "No, nothing else."

Tifa forced a smile to her lips. "Then you don't have anything to worry about. That nightmare may not have anything to do with your past. It was probably just a nightmare…that's all."

"But what about the feathers?" he asked quietly.

"Well, they dissolved when you touched them, right?" Tifa asked. "Maybe they were just a figment of your imagination?"

He shrugged and nodded. "I guess so…but it all just seemed so _real_!"

"I've had dreams that seem too real," she said, mentally adding that they were usually about the same man as the one who had plagued Loz's dream this night. "I can see you're still freaked out. Do you want a drink? It's on the house?"

He smiled and nodded, watching her walk around the bar and pull out two shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey. "That would be great."

She smiled and poured them each a shot before raising the glass beside his. "To nightmares being vanquished by good company."

They both touched glasses before downing their shots in one movement. Loz watched her as she refilled each shot glass.

"You didn't seem to think I was good company earlier," he pointed out.

"Well, I changed my mind, Loz," she said, testing his name on her lips for the first time. "Listen, if you want to just hang out so you don't have to go home, I have a few extra rooms here."

"I'll be fine," he said, trying to shake of the fear of another nightmare happening so soon after the first.

Tifa smiled slightly as she watched his fear cross his face as plain as day. "You know, you'd be a horrible poker player with a face like that!"

"Huh?"  
"Your uneasiness about being alone, is written all over your face," she said. "Look, just spend the night and in the morning, we'll call Reno."

"What for?" he asked.

Tifa shrugged, pushing her own fear deep within herself so Loz wouldn't see it. "If your dreams are more than just nightmares, maybe the people you saw at Shinra can help you."

He nodded doubtfully. "Maybe. But spend the night?"

Tifa smirked at his discomfort with the idea of spending the night. If only he knew that he had been one of the only men who had been able to match her fighting skills in a very _long_ time, he would be assured he had nothing to fear. She on the other hand…

"I don't bite," she said playfully. "Come on, we can watch a movie or something."

"Okay," he said slowly. "But only if it's okay with you."

She nodded and replaced the whiskey bottle before rinsing their glasses. "Come on, it's just up here."

He followed her up the stairs and looked around the apartment she called home. He noticed the artwork obviously created by children and the schoolbooks, tests, and projects that sporadically decorated various surfaces in the main living room.

"Sorry about the mess," Tifa said. "The kids have still not mastered the art of cleaning up after one's self."

"You have kids then?" he asked as he followed her to a sofa and sat beside her.

She smiled and shrugged. "I think of them as my children, but I'm not their biological mother. A friend of mine travels a lot for his work and I look after his daughter for him. My friend, Cloud, the guy whose bike you worked on, found a little boy near the church we went to today. His parents were killed and he had no one, so Cloud brought him home and he's been with us ever since."

"That's nice of you to take him in," Loz said as it suddenly struck him that he was like that kid…he didn't have a mother or father or any siblings that he knew of. He truly was alone.

"Hey, are you okay?" Tifa asked, cutting across his thoughts.

"I was just thinking about family," he said. "At times I think it may be a good thing that I don't have my memories, but I wonder if I have a family? Does somebody out there miss me?"

Tifa smiled warmly. "Well, I'll tell you what I told Denzel. Even if your family is far from you physically, they're always with you here," she said as she touched his chest where his heart was. "In your heart."

He smiled slightly and nodded. "I guess you're right."

They stared into each other's eyes in silence for a moment. Tifa could finally see his eyes as his own and not Sephiroth's…and she was glad for that. She finally blinked to break their strange hold on each other.

"What kind of movie would you like to watch?" Tifa asked as she got to her feet.

"Uh, got any action movies?" he asked, silently hoping she wasn't the type of girl who enjoyed those hideous romantic comedies.

"Do _I_ have any action movies?" she asked teasingly. "I am the _queen_ of action movies! How about Aliens?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, that sounds more like science fiction."

"Well, it's that, but it also has lots of explosions and action sequences," she said enthusiastically. "It's too violent for the kids, so I usually watch it when they're not around."

He couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. "Well, since they're not here, we may as well watch it."

"Are you sure?" she asked as she crouched beside the player and inserted the disc. "If you'd rather watch something else, that's okay too."

"You're being nice to me in spite of everything we have gone through," he said with a shrug before smirking. "The least I can do is watch your movie pick."

She smiled and hurried over to the couch. She kicked off her shoes folded her legs under her as she settled in for the movie. They hadn't even reached the first major action scene and Tifa was out like a light. Loz looked at her and wondered if he should take her to her bed or if he should just let her sleep on the sofa. He quietly got to his feet and decided to see if he could find her room.

The first bedroom he stumbled upon clearly belonged to two children. The next one he stumbled upon belonged to a male, judging by the sparse decoration of the room. He decided that must be her roommate's room. He closed the door and found her room at the end of the hall. It too had little furniture, but it was decidedly more feminine. He left the door open and quietly returned to the living room. He knelt beside the sofa and brushed the hair from her face. Again he couldn't help but think she was pretty. He could tell she had a big heart and that if anyone could help him get past the open hatred he faced every day, it would be a friend like her. He smiled to himself before lifting her up into his arms and carrying her down the hall to her room.

After gently placing her on the bed, he closed the door and went back to the living room. He found a blanket and settled on his side on the sofa facing the television. His eyes began to feel heavy, and after spending the night talking with Tifa, he was finally able to consider sleeping again and leaving his nightmare behind him.

But even as he began to fall asleep, he couldn't help feeling that he was being watched by a malevolent presence…one that found his choice of companion amusing. He squeezed his eyes shut and refused to acknowledge the faint laugh that seemed to echo in the darkness of the small apartment.


	5. Cloud's Return

Author's Note: Thank you to SakR9 for your thoughtful reviews! I really do appreciate them. And you know what? I think I do need to have Loz in a scene, working on a bike sweating, covered in grease, and shirtless! In fact, I will start working on that ASAP! Yummy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 5**

Reno tapped his steering wheel impatiently as he looked at the clock on the car's dashboard. He rolled his eyes and sighed irritably as he slouched in the seat.

"Dude, _you_ called _me_," he muttered. "The least you could do is be on time!"

He straightened his back and looked in the rearview mirror when he heard the rumble of a motorcycle. Loz came speeding up the road before pulling into the alley beside his apartment. He reappeared minutes later and slid into the car beside the Turk.

"Sorry I'm late," he mumbled.

"Where the hell were you?" Reno asked as he fired up the engine and sped down the road. "If I had know where you were, I would have come picked you up from there."

"I overslept," he said.

"Oh, I see," Reno said with a knowing smirk. "Hot date last night huh?"

Loz looked at him and shook his head. "No."

"I can see a little guilt behind your eyes, yo," he said with a chuckle. "Come on! Tell me who the lucky lady was!"

"Everyone hates me," Loz said dryly. "There are no ladies in this city that even like me, never mind want to have a 'hot date' with me."

"That's not true, dude," Reno said as he shook his head. "Tifa likes you…oh, no way man! You did _not_ spend the night with _Tifa_!"

Loz blushed and looked out the window. "It wasn't like that."

"Yeah, right, man," Reno said with a snort. "She is one hot lady! Did you get to see her naked?"

Loz turned his head quickly and narrowed his eyes. "What? No! Listen, she and I just talked, that's all. I told her about my nightmare."

Reno switched from being his normal perverted self to being his somewhat more serious Turk persona. "The one that's got me bringing you to HQ for another check-up?"

Loz nodded. "She said it was probably nothing…but I think she was just trying to make me feel better."

"Can't un-ring a bell once it's been rung, Lockheart," Reno muttered.

"Can you hurry?" Loz asked anxiously. "I just want to get this over with."

* * *

Tifa yawned as she looked at the clock on her nightstand…wait, what? How did she get to her room? The last thing she remembered was watching Aliens with Loz. She looked at the clock again and noticed a piece of paper on top of it. She frowned and unfolded it.

_Tifa,_

_I took your advice and called Reno about my dream. I'll come back to let you know how it all turned out._

_Loz._

She smiled and shook her head. He must have brought her to her room after she had fallen asleep. She rolled on her back and thought about what had happened between them. All her distrust had disappeared when it had become clear that really had lost his memories. His nightmare had sounded so frightening. She knew what it was like to be trapped in a world of dreams with Sephiroth! She had endured some of the most terrifying nightmares with him as her tormentor after the Nibleheim incident. She absently rubbed her chest where her scar rested. That damn Masamune of his was so sharp she had barely felt it slice her flesh.

She shuddered and closed her eyes. She was not going to let Sephiroth scare her anymore. He was dead and even if he _was_ trying to use Loz as a conduit to facilitate his return to the living once more, she was going to do everything she could to stop him.

She sat up and frowned when she hear the back door open and close. It could be Loz returning, but that thought disappeared when she heard multiple feet pound up the stairs and along the hallway. Her door burst open and Denzel and Marlene ran into the room.

"Tifa!" Marlene exclaimed happily. "I missed you! You won't believe what daddy brought me!"

"It was so cool to spend time with Cloud!" Denzel said as he hugged Tifa as well. "And Vincent's not so scary once you get to know him."

Tifa smiled as the two children talked over one another, trying to get their stories out excitedly.

"Give Tifa a break," Cloud said with a smile from the doorway. "It looks like she just woke up."

Tifa smiled and hugged each of the children again. "Why don't you two unpack and then I'll make us all some food?"

The two children quickly jumped from the bed and ran out of the room. Cloud managed to get out their way just as they plowed through the doorway. He turned again and smiled at Tifa.

"They really missed you," he said.

"I missed them too," she said with a smile. "Is that why you came back early?"

His smile faded as he shook his head. "Not really. When I called I could tell something was up. I know you said this was my time to relax, but you have been watching out for me for a long time. It's only fair for me to do the same thing. What's been going on?"

Tifa chewed her bottom lip. She wanted to tell Cloud about Loz, but she was worried about how he would react. She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when they heard a loud squeal followed by footsteps running up the stairs. Marlene ran into the room and launched herself into Tifa's arms.

"Tifa! That man is here! Why is he back?" she cried as she buried her face in Tifa's shoulders.

Cloud frowned and knelt beside Marlene. "What man?"

"That silver-haired man!" she said.

"Damn," Tifa muttered as she watched Cloud run out of the room. She turned and looked down at Marlene. "Listen, you stay right here. I'm going to check it out."

Marlene nodded and huddled in the far corner of the bed while Tifa ran from the room. She hurried down the stairs and could hear the sound of fighting in the bar.

"Damn, damn, damn!" she muttered when she saw Loz holding his jaw and Cloud rubbing his fist. "Cloud! Don't hurt him!"

"Tifa, stay back!" Cloud warned.

"What the hell is this guy's problem?" Loz asked.

"What's my _problem_?" Cloud asked incredulously. "My _problem_ is…"

"Cloud, don't!" Tifa said as she moved to stand in front of him. "Please, don't say another word." She turned and looked at Loz. "I'm sorry, I didn't have time to tell him about you. Let me get you some ice."

Loz glared at Cloud, but obediently followed Tifa for the ice. He sat on the stool he had sat on the previous night and took the cold cloth holding the ice.

"Thank you," he mumbled.

She smiled. "You're welcome. Listen, I'm going to talk to Cloud and we'll just be in the kitchen. If you need anything, let me know." She turned and looked at Cloud, wincing slightly when he saw the look on his face. He was _not_ impressed. "Come on Cloud."

Cloud waited until the door closed behind them. "What the hell is going on Tifa? Is _he_ the reason you sounded so weird when I called?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

She shrugged anxiously. "I didn't know what to tell you. I dropped Fenrir off like you asked and Jake came out with Loz and I…"

"Excuse me, did you just say he was with _Jake_?" Cloud asked incredulously. "_He_ worked on my bike? Are you sure it's not going to explode?"

"Cloud, we test-drove it, so don't be ridiculous," Tifa said impatiently.

"What do you mean 'we' test-drove it?" he asked. "You went on a test-drive with that maniac _alone_?"

Tifa sighed. "Are you going to listen to me or not? Reno and Rude were in here the same day I saw Loz. Reno said he and Rude had come across him standing near his bike when they were doing their so-called clean up routine after your last battle with Sephiroth. He didn't remember anything and he still doesn't. Rufus had his scientists check him out and they say he's reading like a member of SOLDIER."

Cloud shook his head. "What does that mean?"

"It means he's just like you," Tifa said. "He has Jenova cells present, but they don't control him. I know you hate him…I did too, but he's really kind of sweet."

"And how sweet will he be when Sephiroth uses him to come back, just like he used Kadaj?" Cloud asked pointedly.

Tifa looked at her hands before looking up at Cloud again. "Reno said that the Sephiroth gene appears to be dormant so there really isn't a threat right now. If you poke around and cause his memories to return though, who knows if it will reawaken that gene?"

"Pfft, what does Reno know?" Cloud said dismissively.

"I pushed him Cloud," Tifa admitted. "I tried to catch him in a lie to prove he really does have his memories and all that did was make him have a nightmare about Sephiroth. It was so real to him that he went back to Reno to have another check-up done this morning."

"Tifa you can't believe a word that comes out that _remnant's_ mouth!" Cloud snapped. He saw the look of hurt wash across her face and mentally kicked himself. He sighed and touched her arm. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. It's just that we never get a break."

Tifa nodded and smiled slightly. "I know. Listen, why don't you go talk to Rufus and see if you can get some answers out of him? Maybe he'll be able to tell you whatever you need to hear, Cloud."

"Will the kids be safe here?" he asked doubtfully.

"Loz hasn't done anything remotely terrifying, so I'm sure we'll be safe," Tifa promised. "Though if anything changes, we won't wait around here for you."

Cloud nodded before grabbing the keys to Fenrir and walking out the back door. Tifa leaned on the counter and let out a long sigh. She had not wanted Cloud to find out about Loz like this.

"Tifa? Is everything okay?" Denzel asked from the stairs.

She turned and smiled at him. "Everything's fine. Cloud just had to go see President Shinra."

"Marlene was really freaked out," he said with a frown. "She kept mumbling about a scary man. What was she talking about?"

"Do you remember those three men who took you and all the children with Geostigma?" Tifa asked.

He nodded. "A little. Aren't they dead?"

"Well, the Lifestream returned one of them back to the living," she explained. "But he doesn't remember anything and in this case it's better he _doesn't_ remember anything about what happened."

"It's not the shorter one is it?" Denzel asked fearfully. "He was pretty scary."

Tifa shook her head. "No, it's the one with the shorter hair."

"The one who took Marlene?" he asked.

Tifa nodded. "His name is Loz."

"Aren't you mad at him Tifa?" Denzel asked.

"It's kind of complicated," Tifa said. "I'm mad at him for taking Marlene and for putting you at risk. I'm mad at him for trying to destroy Cloud, but without his memories or his brothers, he's kind of…lost."

"Kind of like how I was when Cloud found me," Denzel said.

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Kind of, but you weren't scary!"

Denzel laughed softly. "I might have been if I had his brothers!"

"I have to go speak to Loz, so why don't head upstairs and gather up your laundry?" Tifa suggested. "Then you can go out and play."

Denzel's face lit up at the idea of playing in the streets with his friends. "Thanks Tifa!"

She watched him run up the stairs and decided to find Marlene so she could explain everything about Loz. However, when she reached her room, Marlene wasn't in there anymore. She frowned and went to Cloud's room. When she wasn't there, she glanced in the living room, again, finding no sign of Marlene. She crossed the hall to the room Marlene shared with Denzel and was nearly run over by the boy as he hurried out with a pile of laundry.

"Denzel, have you seen Marlene?" Tifa asked.

He stopped and shook his head. "Nope. When I get this stuff downstairs, can I go play?"

Tifa nodded absently. "Sure. Just make sure you're home by the time the street lights come on."

"Okay!" he said excitedly before barreling down the stairs.

Tifa frowned and went back down to the kitchen. She put her hands on her hips as she looked around trying to figure out where she was…until she heard a small voice accosting the man in the bar.

"You're a bad man," she said.

"Oh no!" Tifa groaned as she hurried into the bar.

Loz lifted the ice from his chin and looked around. He didn't see anyone until there was an insistent tapping on his leg. He looked down at the little girl standing there and frowned.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"I said you're a bad man," Marlene repeated.

He snorted and returned the ice to his throbbing chin. "I get that a lot, kid."

"Doesn't it bother you that nobody likes you?" she asked suspiciously.

"Not really," he answered.

Marlene looked up at him and seemed to study him before speaking again. "Did someone hit you?"

He nodded. "Your friend Cloud did. Apparently, he doesn't like me either."

"He's got a good reason," Marlene began to say, but stopped when Tifa entered the bar.

"I think that's quite enough from you young lady," Tifa said with a smile.

"But Tifa, he's the guy…"

"Marlene, please go upstairs and unpack," Tifa said, trying to communicate with the little girl with just her eyes. Marlene was well versed in Tifa's various looks and knew this was one of those times when it was best not to argue.

"Okay, Tifa," she said as she turned to go. She stopped and looked at Loz again. "Sorry I startled you by screaming when you came in."

Loz raised his eyebrows and noticed she seemed to be waiting for something. "Uh, don't worry about it kid."

She nodded and ran from the room. Tifa turned to face Loz once she heard the door to Marlene's room close.

"How's the chin?" she asked as she moved his hand so she could see what kind of damage he had taken.

"Better," he said. "Does he always greet people like that?"

"Not normally," Tifa said as Loz handed her the towel. "You're going to have a bruise, but it shouldn't be _too_ bad."

He nodded. "I'm sorry I freaked the kid out. I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

Tifa shrugged. "It's not your fault. No one was supposed to be here."

"So, not only did I make enemies with every adult in this damn city, I terrorized children as well, huh?" he asked glumly.

Tifa felt for him. When he had been doing everything he had in the past, she hadn't felt anything for him because he actually seemed to genuinely _enjoy_ the destruction he was causing. But now without any memories, he seemed like a young boy in a man's body.

"Things will get better, Loz," she reassured him. "Now, how did your check-up go?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. They made notes and looked at my eyes…a lot. But after all the tests, they said Reno could take me home. I still think something's wrong though."

"It's a good sign they sent you home," Tifa said brightly. "If Shinra's scientists had thought you were dangerous, they would have locked you up in no time."

Loz considered her point but eventually nodded and smiled slightly. "I guess you're right. Listen, I'm going to get out of here before any of your other friends come in and decide my face needs to be rearranged."

Tifa nodded and followed him over to the door. "Listen, my offer will always stand. If you need anything, just tell me."

He nodded. He wanted to kiss her, but something told him it was too soon, so he just smiled and said, "Thanks."

She watched him straddle his motorcycle and speed down the road away from her before sighing and locking the door. She headed towards the stairs, knowing that she had a _lot_ to answer for in Marlene's eyes. Her surmise was correct when she opened the door to the children's room and Marlene was waiting for her.

"Alright, Marlene," Tifa said with a smile. "Let's have it."

"That man hurt you," she said softly. Her confusion caused her to furrow her brow, trying to understand everything. "He took me away and tried to hurt Denzel."

"I know," Tifa said as she sat on the other bed facing her. "He did a lot of bad things, but now he's lost."

Marlene frowned. "What do you mean he's lost?"

"Well, the Lifestream gave him a second chance," Tifa explained. "But it left him without his memories. He doesn't remember who we are or what he did to any of us. He is all alone in a world filled with people who hate him and he has no idea why they hate him."

"He must be scared," Marlene said sadly. "Is that why you're being nice to him?"

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Yep, that's right."

Marlene thought for a moment and looked up at her. "I should be nice to him too then, right?"

"If you're frightened, you don't have to see him," Tifa said.

"Everybody needs friends, though," Marlene said thoughtfully. She smiled and looked up at Tifa. "He didn't hurt me or anything. He was only doing what his brother told him to do. And he was mean to Loz too! Both of his brothers teased him a lot, especially about crying. Do you think Cloud will be less mad if we tell him Loz isn't as bad as he thinks?"

Tifa shrugged. "Maybe, but Cloud is entitled to feel however he feels. We can't make him do anything."

"Will Cloud be mad at us for not being mad at Loz?" Marlene asked.

"I don't think so," Tifa said. "Cloud just needs to work his own feelings out first, that's all. Do you want to help me make some dinner?"

"Okay!" Marlene said brightly as she ran out of the room.

Tifa smiled at the quick way children seemed to process things. Both Marlene and Denzel could see why Tifa wanted to help Loz. She just hoped that once Cloud spoke to Rufus, he too would see why she wanted to help Loz…and eventually forgive her for not telling him the truth sooner.


	6. Cloud Visits Shinra

Author's Note: Boring, yet necessary, filler chapter…sorry! ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 6**

"Hey Cloud, I didn't know you were back in town," Reno said when he saw Cloud walking towards the reception area of the new Shinra headquarters.

"And I didn't know that one of Sephiroth's remnants survived," Cloud said coldly as he glared at the Turk. "I thought you guys were trying to be different."

"Hey, now that's not fair," Reno protested. "We _are_ different. Sephiroth is a Shinra problem and the last time I looked, you don't work for Shinra, Spikey."

"That remnant blew me and himself up," Cloud said angrily. "I think you could have at least told me he survived."

"And what would you have done?" Reno asked with a sneer. "Run off to hide just like you have since Aeris was killed?"

He had barely just finished the sentence when Cloud's fist made contact with his face. Reno looked up as he was preparing to hit him again, but he stopped when the tip of an Electro-Mag rod was pressed against his chest.

"Everything all right here?" Rude asked with a cool lift of one eyebrow.

Reno smirked as he straightened his jacket before wiping some blood from his lip. "Everything's fine, partner. Spikey hits like a girl."

"I need to see Rufus," Cloud said.

"The president and the director are expecting you," Rude said. "We'll take you up to see them."

Reno continued to smirk as they entered the building and got into a waiting elevator. They all rode the elevator in silence until Reno finally looked over his shoulder at Cloud who was in his own little world.

"What would you have done?" he asked.

Cloud frowned and glared at the Turk. "What are you talking about?"

"If we had called you and said one of the remnants was back, what would you have done?" Reno asked again. "Would you have killed him? Would you have told us it was our problem like you did the first time they appeared?"

Cloud looked down, unable to answer him because in truth…he had no idea what he would have done.

"If you had killed him, who would have done all that awesome work on your bike, man?" Reno continued as the doors to the elevator opened where Elena was patiently waiting.

"Come with me," Elena said as Cloud pushed Reno out of his way.

"You're an ass, Reno," Cloud muttered as he walked past Elena.

"What? It's true!" Reno protested.

"Reno, you always cross that thin line between having a point and being obnoxious," Rude said, shaking his head as the elevator doors closed.

Elena hurried to match Cloud's pace. "Reno ticked you off, huh?"

Cloud nodded. "Obviously."

Elena reached out and grabbed his arm as he reached for the door handle on Rufus' office door. He turned and glared down at her, but she didn't flinch.

"I know you're pissed, Cloud," Elena said. "But we've been watching him. He can't blow his nose without us knowing."

"And you just 'watched' him take off on my bike alone with Tifa?" Cloud asked pointedly.

"Reno and Rude never lost sight of them," she answered without missing a beat. "Give us a break Cloud. We're used to hiding everything. We're all new to this transparency to the masses thing."

She had a point, but Cloud was still too angry to care. He turned the handle and entered Rufus' office. The president looked up at Cloud and smirked.

"You're later than I thought you would be," Rufus said.

"I would have been here sooner if I had even known _he_ was still here," Cloud said.

Rufus shrugged. "Well, we can hardly go back and rewrite the past can we? If we could, I think we would all go back to the beginning and do things differently."

"Tifa said you guys have had your scientists check out that remnant," Cloud said as he made a face. "What did you find?"

"Exactly what Reno told Miss Lockheart we found," Tseng said. "The Sephiroth gene is dormant. He remembers nothing of Jenova, his mission to find her, or even his brothers. Cloud, he seems to be harmless. We have known of his existence for the past six months and he has done nothing but behave like a normal citizen."

"He will always be dangerous because Sephiroth will always be a part of him!" Cloud snapped. "He was the most violent of those remnants and if he gets provoked, he could just rely on his gut instincts and hurt a lot of people."

Rufus watched Cloud absently rubbing his knuckles before lifting his eyes to his again. "And did he attack you when you punched him?"

Cloud looked at him in surprise and frowned. "How did you…?"

Rufus gestured to his busy hands. "I doubt it hurt that much when you hit Reno a few minutes ago." He saw Cloud's blank expression and motioned towards the security cameras around his office. "We maybe improving ourselves, Cloud, but Big Brother always needs to keep watching. Now, what did the remnant do when you hit him?"

Cloud frowned. "Nothing. He looked surprised."

"Exactly," Rufus said.

"Our scientists have been able to establish the fact that whatever process the Lifestream put him through when it brought him back from death has nullified the effect the Jenova cells had on him," Tseng said.

"So can you guarantee that he'll never be able to bring Sephiroth back?" Cloud asked doubtfully.

"It would be irresponsible for us to offer any kind of guarantee, Cloud," Rufus said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Cloud asked as he rolled his eyes.

"We don't even know how the remnants came into existence in the first place," Tseng pointed out. "How can we say Sephiroth won't be able to use his remnant to return?"

"So much is still unknown about how Sephiroth is able to retain his sense of individuality in the Lifestream," Rufus added. "Without knowing this, how can we predict his remnant's abilities? We don't even know if regaining his memories will affect who has become. It may do nothing…or it could bring our worst nightmare back to life. So, you see Cloud, we're doing all that we can given the information we have to work with."

"If you are so concerned, why don't you help us?" Tseng asked.

"Help you how?" Cloud asked suspiciously.

"Return to the Northern Cave and help us search for anything that may give us some clue about how his remnants came to exist in the first place," Tseng said. "It is where we first encountered them and it is the best place to start our search for answers."

"What do you need my help for?" Cloud asked.

"If we find any other surprises, we'll need someone with some SOLDIER training," Rufus said. "When we first encountered Sephiroth's remnants, they proved to be too much for even my best Turks. You would give us an advantage if Sephiroth decides to send us anymore…surprises."

"I'll have to think about it," Cloud said as he turned away from the two men.

"Cloud," Rufus called. When Cloud turned to face him, Rufus got to his feet and walked around his desk so he could lean against it. "If you insist on going after the remnant, you could unleash Sephiroth again and we will do _anything_ to stop that from happening. Do you understand?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and glared at Rufus. "Oh, I understand. And do you understand that I will do anything to protect my friends…and my family?"

Rufus smirked. "I'm counting on it. We will need your answer by midnight, Cloud. Tseng and Elena will be leaving at twelve-thirty."

Cloud walked out of the room without acknowledging Rufus' last statement.

* * *

Tifa was waiting at the kitchen table when Cloud finally returned. She watched him as he silently dropped into the chair facing her. They stared at each other in silence until Tifa couldn't take it anymore and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Cloud," she said softly. "I should have told you when you called."

He sighed. "I wouldn't have been able to do anything for you anyway. I was too far away…as usual."

"Cloud this was different," Tifa said. "You were on vacation…not running away."

"Is it really safe for you to be near him?" Cloud asked.

Tifa shrugged. "I'm not sure. He seems okay and like I said, he's…different. He seems nice." She watched his face closely, noticing that he seemed to be shutting down again. "Cloud, why are you asking me this?"

"Tifa…"

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" she asked quietly.

"It's not what you think," Cloud said. "Rufus…"

"You're going to help him again, aren't you?" she asked.

Cloud nodded. "If that _remnant_ is going to…"

"He has a name, Cloud," Tifa said tightly.

Cloud leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes. "Fine. If _Loz_ is going to be living the rest of his life here in Edge near us and the children, I want to make damn sure Sephiroth can't use him to hurt us."

Tifa nodded, begrudgingly admitting that he had a point. "Fine. But if you run again Cloud, I don't know what will happen. My heart just can't take being left behind so you can lick your wounds alone anymore. We're friends and we're raising these kids together. We need you too."

"I know Tifa," Cloud said. "Listen, I have to pack. I'm leaving with Tseng tonight."

Tifa laughed tightly as she got to her feet. "I figured as much. Be careful, Cloud.

"I will be," Cloud assured her. "Promise me you'll call me if something happens."

She turned and watched him get to his feet and step closer to her. "I'll call. Will you answer though?"

He smiled slightly and nodded. "I'll answer, Tifa."

She leaned forward and hugged him tightly. "Don't you dare die on me out there, Cloud Strife!"

He hugged her back. "I don't plan on joining the Lifestream any time soon, Tifa, I swear."

And later when she listened to Fenrir's engine ignite, she couldn't help but feel the same way she used to when Cloud was about to disappear for an extended period of time. Somehow she knew he'd be safe…she just didn't know if he was planning on coming back again.

* * *

Author's Note Part 2: Yeah, blah chapter, but it's necessary to get Cloud out of there for more Tifa/Loz action! :D

SakR9, you're going to like the next chapter…I promise! *cough half-naked Loz cough* :D


	7. An Invitation

Author's Note: Shirtless dirty Loz as requested! :D I decided to upload two chapters at once, because chapter 6 was boring (no Loz = boring!). Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 7**

Loz quietly worked on his current project, stopping only to wipe the sweat from his brow. He was trying to concentrate on what he was doing, but all he could think of was Tifa. He had been so confused by her instant fear of him. He was used to seeing fear o the eyes of strangers…strangers who seemed to know him but none that looked familiar to him. When she had asked him to take a test-drive of Fenrir with him, he thought she had finally moved past her fear of him, but once they were alone in the church, her fear had turned in anger and distrust.

Almost as suddenly though, her distrust had turned to sorrow…sorrow for hurting him just as the taunts and glares and muttered curses from the masses hurt him. In an instant she offered him something no other had offered him yet…she offered him compassion. To have her as a friend made everything seem less irritating. He finally had someone he could talk to.

Even when her friend appeared and punched him in the face for what he assumed must be a past crime he committed, she still helped him. Her friend obviously didn't approve, but had enough respect for Tifa to allow her to help him. After everything she had done to help him, from letting him stay with her to ward off anymore nightmares to helping him ease the pain in his face, he wanted to show her how much he appreciated it. And that desire to thank her took his first thoughts to kissing her. This confused him. He had lost his memories, but he _knew_ he had done something to hurt her in the past. The accusation of him being a bad man from the little girl at the bar confirmed his suspicions. But he had felt a strange attraction to her right away. It was almost as though it was a memory from his past…but that confused him more. How could he hurt someone he had any kind of attraction to?

His past was always going to stand in the way of his future until he fully understood everything. He knew Tifa wasn't going to tell him…neither would the Shinra scientists or even the Turks. That must mean he's dangerous…but how could that be when all he wanted right now was some peace and quiet? He shook his head and pulled his shirt over his head. He was getting too hot and irritable to continue pondering all those unending questions. He turned his attention the bike he was working on and decided to ignore everything else…but Tifa still managed to invade his thoughts occasionally, bringing a smile to his lips.

* * *

Tifa was just coming in the door from grocery shopping as the phone was ringing constantly. She hoped it was Cloud, but she doubted it. He had been gone two days and hadn't even sent her a text message to let her know he was okay. She could see be the caller ID it wasn't him, but her heart did skip a beat when she saw it was a call from Axel's Custom Bikes.

"Hello?"

"Hey Tifa," Jake said with a smile in his voice. "I was just calling see if you still had your old bike."

"That useless heap of junk?" Tifa asked making a face. "Yeah, it's still taking up space in the alley. Why?"

"Well, dad and I were talking about taking a bike and getting Loz to rip it apart and rebuild it," he explained. "Kind of like what we did to make Fenrir."

"Don't you guys have a lot of work to catch up on?" Tifa asked. "That's the whole reason you hired Loz in the first place."

"Well, we hired another guy too and we really want to see exactly what Loz can do with a dead bike," Jake said. "We'll buy it from you, two thousand gil, Tifa. What do you say?"

"Jake, it's not even worth half of that," Tifa said with smile.

"I have a feeling that once the big guy's done with it, it will be worth five times that amount," Jake said.

Tifa shook her head. "You guys can just have it you know."

"Cloud is our best customer," Jake said. "I won't rip off his best friend like that."

Tifa smiled sadly at the mention of Cloud. "When would you like me to drop it off?"

"Are you busy right now?" he asked.

"I'll put my groceries away and get the kids fed first," she said. "Then I'll bring it by."

"You're awesome Tifa," Jake said happily. "I'll see you soon."

Tifa hung up the phone and took the groceries into the kitchen. As she unpacked everything, Marlene skipped down the stairs and hugged her.

"Tifa! You're back!" she exclaimed happily. "What's for lunch?"

"I was thinking macaroni and cheese," she said. "How does that sound?"

"Yummy!" she said as she ran over to the cupboard. "I'll get the pot! Hey Denzel! Tifa's making macaroni and cheese!"

Tifa laughed to herself when she heard footsteps pound down the stairs announcing Denzel's appearance.

"I'll grate the cheese!" he said happily. "So who was on the phone? Was it Cloud."

Tifa continued to smile as she shook her head, hoping to keep the children from focusing on Cloud's sudden departure. "Nope, unfortunately not. It was Jake wanting to know if he could buy my old bike."

"What does he want that old thing for?" Denzel asked making a face. "It doesn't even work!"

"That's what I said," Tifa agreed. "But he wants to see what Loz can do with a bike that's pretty much destroyed." Tifa looked up when the children remained silent. She frowned as the two children shared a secret glance. "Okay, what's going on?"

Denzel looked from Marlene back to Tifa and shrugged. "Nothing. We know Cloud left because of Loz."

Tifa sighed. "He left to make sure that Loz isn't dangerous. He's helping Reno's friends, that's all."  
Marlene smiled. "Tifa, we may be kids, but give us a break! Cloud is worried about Sephiroth again."

Denzel nodded. "Yeah. He thinks Loz will bring back Sephiroth like his brother did."

"But Denzel and I think Cloud's wrong," Marlene said.

Tifa frowned. "I know he doesn't seem so bad now, but he did bad things with his brothers."

Denzel nodded. "We know. It's just…he didn't seem as bad as his brothers."

"Yeah," Marlene said. "He always seemed more focused on playing…like everything was a big game to him."

Tifa nodded slightly. "That may be true, but he could still be dangerous. If anyone tells him about his past, they may bring the old Loz back, so we all have to be very careful about what we say to him."

"Will we be seeing a lot of him?" Marlene asked.

Tifa turned back to the groceries to hide her faint blush. "Maybe," she said keeping her voice neutral. "Let's get this lunch on the go. I have to get that bike over to Jake's shop."

"Can we go out and play while you're gone?" Denzel asked eagerly.

"Sure," Tifa answered, relieved they were back to the stuff that should be important to them like playing, not the tedious things adults had to deal with.

* * *

Gus was just leaving when Tifa pulled into the parking lot towing her bike behind her. He smiled and made his way over to her.

"Hey Tifa," he said. "I'm glad I caught you before I left. Here's the money for the bike and don't try to argue with me Tifa. You and Cloud are good kids. He kept us in business and you keep us sane with your heavenly bar tending skills. I'm not going to take a bike for free from you."

Tifa laughed softly as she took the envelope from Gus. "Okay, you twisted my arm. Where do you want it?"

"Around back," he answered. "Jake took our newest guy up to meet the parts dealer so he could learn the ropes. He's not much of a body guy, but he's a natural salesman! If you goo through the shop, Loz is working on another bike, but he can help you unload this one."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll see you later, Jake."

Tifa put the truck in gear and drove around back. Despite the fact that she was getting used to seeing Loz and _not_ being scared, she still felt her stomach clench knowing she would be seeing him again. It wasn't fear, but she couldn't quite place it…it was something she hadn't felt in a while.

She shook her head and parked the ancient truck before getting out and entering the shop. She could hear the radio going somewhere in the shop as well as a power drill intermittently. She strolled along making as much noise as possible so she didn't startle him, but he wasn't acknowledging her presence. She rounded a corner and stopped in her tracks, mesmerized by what she saw.

Loz was crouched beside a bike taking the front wheel off, but what caught her attention was what he was wearing…or in this case what he _wasn't_ wearing. He had on his heavy work boots and black cotton pants, but his shirt was lying beside him on the floor. She could easily see the muscles on his back ripple as he moved. He got to his feet, still facing away from her and rolled his neck slightly as he tried to loosen a few knots. He stretched his arms before pulling some earplugs from his ears. Tifa cleared her throat, both because she wanted him to know that she was there, as well as because her throat had suddenly dried up!

He turned to face her and smiled when he saw her. "Tifa, hey."

"Hey," she said a little more breathy than she would have liked, but she couldn't help it. His chest was even more impressive than his back! The light layer of sweat and the occasional smear of grease that adorned his body would normally disgust her, but for some reason when _this_ man was dirty, she just didn't seem to mind! She shook her head and managed a small neutral smile. "I brought the bike Jake wanted you to tear apart and rebuild."

"Great," he said as he wiped his hands on towel and picked up his shirt. He pulled it on, but left it unbuttoned as he followed her out to the truck. He whistled when he saw her bike. "This is going to look amazing when I'm done with it. You got any special requests for customizations?"

She looked at him blankly for a moment. "What? Oh…no. I sold it to Gus so you could make it a showpiece for the shop. You know, kind of like the new Fenrir."

"You don't want it back?" he asked with a slight frown.

"I hardly ever rode it after the kids moved in and to fix it would cost more than it's worth," she said dismissively.

"I could fix it up in my own time," he offered, surprised by his own actions. "If you want to keep it, just say so."

She was tempted, but she couldn't really justify it. "No, it's okay. I should really concentrate on finding a new car so I can get the kids around without worrying about whether or not it's going to finally kick the bucket on the side of the road."

"Everybody needs a motorcycle, Tifa," he insisted as he ran his hand over the chrome fender. "You still care about it or else you wouldn't have taken such good care of it."

"I always thought, 'next year I'll drop a new engine in' or next month I'll get that clutch repaired'," she said ruefully. "But…it's time to realize I'll never do any of those things because I have other things I need to focus on."

Loz nodded, impressed by her ability to push her wants and desires into the background for the sake of others. "Well, okay, but I think you'll regret this."

She laughed and nodded. "Probably."

She took a moment to really consider the man in front of her as he set about unhooking the bike from its restraints. Even when he had entered the church during their first meeting, she had though he was attractive. When he fought her, she had derived an almost sick pleasure from fighting a man who seemed to enjoy physical combat…almost as much as she did. He had fought her as an equal. He hadn't held back or lowered his skill to a level more 'befitting' a female like most of her previous opponents had done. That was why it was not a simple victory for her. She had to fight tooth and nail for a draw and if he hadn't cheated, they would most likely have fought until they were both exhausted.

Tifa followed him into the shop as he pushed her unused bike into the back area where he worked. He turned and caught her staring at him. He looked disconcerted at her open appraisal of him, but he seemed to shake it off as he leaned against a workbench.

"So, are you going to be open tonight?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I close every other Tuesday, just to restock the bar and give myself a break."

He nodded and watched her for a moment. "I heard Cloud left."

Tifa looked up at him in surprise. "Where'd you hear that?"

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "He stopped by to tell me to stay away from you and the kids."

Tifa groaned softly. "Oh did he? Well, it was not his place to issue that or any kind of order. I'm sorry about that."

Loz shrugged. "At least someone in this dumpy town can say it to my face."

Tifa nodded. "I know the last time you were at my place you got a punch in the face, but would you like to come over for dinner?"

He couldn't help the eager smile that curled around his lips, though he hesitated slightly. "What about those kids. They didn't seem to like me and I don't even want to _guess_ what I did to make them feel that way towards me."

His guilt pulled at her heartstrings. He had no idea what his crimes of the past were, but he felt bad. Surely that was a sign that a heartless creature like Sephiroth couldn't live within him. She smiled slightly.

"Actually, they're a little curious about you," she said. "So what do you say?"

"I'll be there in an hour," he said with a smile, anxious to spend time with her and see how her make shift family interacted and curious to see how he would fit into that dynamic.

She smiled and nodded. "Perfect. I'll see you then."

Loz nodded and watched her leave. Once he was alone, he buttoned his shirt and began to put his tools away. He had planned on work late, but with an invitation from Tifa for dinner as option, all other choices faded away from his mind. He slowed his movements as he remembered the desire to kiss her after his encounter with Cloud. It still troubled him that he could go from feeling resentful towards her for the grudge she carried against him to wanting to touch her and hold in a way he had no memory of ever wanting. Was this desire truly new to him or was it something he indulged in often? Simple questions like that were twisted in a past that no one seemed to want to get into with him. Were they worried about the pain it would cause to relive the events? Or were they worried it would trigger new, and possibly, _worse_ events?

He shook his head and decided to focus on the fact that he had a dinner to attend.

* * *

Author's Note part 2: Next up, dinner…and some private time for Tifa & Loz! ;)


	8. Dinner Date

Author's Note: I have just moved and no internet is available much to my sadness, so updates will be slow coming until October 18 (hopefully!). Anyway here is a new chappie so I hope you all enjoy! :D

SakR9, thank you for the reviews, you rock! And yeah, Loz needs a shower…good thing I am giving him a shower scene in the next chapter! :D And thanks for letting me know about the mistake between Jake and Gus. I'll work on fixing that!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 8**

Marlene jumped up from the couch when there was a knock on the back door. "I'll get it!" she called anxiously as she ran down the stairs and pulled the door open. She leaned back and looked up Loz. "I always forget how tall you are!"

He was surprised by her comment, but he smirked. "I'm not tall…you're just short."

She giggled and stepped out of his way. "Come on, dinner's almost ready. Tifa's in the kitchen, that way!"

He slowly walked in the direction of the kitchen while Marlene ran up the stairs. He followed the sound of some quiet music until he found the kitchen. Tifa had her back to him as she stirred something in a large and hummed along to the song that was playing. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and she was wearing a pair of black pants and a wine colored shirt that left a little of her midriff showing. He swallowed hard as he shook his head.

"Um, the girl let me in," he said awkwardly to announce his presence.

Tifa turned and smiled. "I hope her greeting was a little more civil than the first one," she said teasingly. "Have a seat. Dinner's almost ready."  
"What are you making?" he asked as he pulled out a chair. He sat on it backwards so he could rest his arms on the back.

"Chili," she answered. "I hope that's okay."

He shrugged. "I've never had chili…well, not that I _know_ of anyway."

Tifa laughed softly before dipping a spoon into the concoction. She turned and blew on it before offering it to him. "Want a bite?"

"Sure," he said as he took the spoon from her. His mouth seemed to tingle with the subtle heat and all the flavors of the different spices rolling around on his tongue. He smiled and swallowed the bite. "That's really good!"

"I'm glad you liked it," she said with a smile. She turned the stove top down before pulling out a chair and facing him. "I'm also glad you came tonight."

"I'm glad you asked me," he countered with a smile.

"And you brought wine?" she asked as she picked up the bottle and read the label. "That's a good year."

"I wanted to bring something," he said with a shrug. "I had to ask the woman behind the counter what was good and I was a little worried she had purposely recommended something bad."  
Tifa clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Does that happen often?"

"Sometimes," he admitted.

"Well, that's just stupid," she muttered. "You would think after everything this planet's been through that people would have learned to be a little more caring about other people!"

Loz wanted to ask what she was talking about but he knew she probably wouldn't answer for fear of causing him undue pain. "Well, I'm sure I deserve it. A whole town can't all be wrong."

"Yeah, well a whole planet was selfish and caused this mess in the first place, so I certainly think a whole town can be wrong."

She shook her head and looked at him. It was the first time she had noticed his clothes. He was wearing a black button up shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans. The shirt was opened enough to reveal some of the muscle she had seen earlier. She found herself wanting to see him without a shirt when he wasn't dirty. She was blushing as she tried to think of something to say when the kids bounded into the room providing the perfect distraction.

"Is dinner ready?" Denzel asked eagerly.

Tifa smiled and got to her feet. "You bet. You get out the cutlery and Marlene get out the glasses."

Marlene nodded and got out four glasses before looking up at Loz. "What do you want to drink? We have milk, juice, or beer."

"Is it appropriate to drink beer around kids?" he asked.

Marlene smiled and nodded. "As long as you don't get plastered."

Tifa looked around at Marlene. "Plastered? Where did you hear a term like that?"

"Cid told daddy he could drink around me as long as he didn't get plastered," she said. "And then daddy told him to watch his mouth around me, because Cid was saying some cuss words too."

Tifa smiled and shook her head as she ladled the chili into four bowls. "That sounds like Barrett and Cid."

"I'll have juice," he answered.

Tifa turned around and handed a bowl of chili to Marlene and Loz before placing a bowl in front of Denzel and herself. Loz watched the children as they took some of the left over shredded cheese from lunch and sprinkled it on top of their chili. Denzel noticed him staring at them and smiled.

"You should try it with some cheese," he said as he offered Loz the bowl.

Loz took the bowl and grabbed some of the cheese, watching it melt into the hot chili as soon as he dropped it into the bowl. He lifted a spoonful to his lips and tasted the new creation with a smile.

"That's even better," he said happily.

The two children laughed and nodded. Marlene handed him a thick piece of bread before handing one to the others.

"The best part is gathering the sauce up with bread!" she said excitedly.

Tifa smiled warmly as she watched the children interacting with Loz. The rest of the world could learn a thing or two from the two of them. Their hearts allowed them to see Loz as both the man he was in the past and the present…and recognize the difference. They both knew better than anyone that he had done bad things in the past, but they also knew that people could change…she only hoped they wouldn't be proven wrong in that assumption.

Loz looked up and caught Tifa staring at him. He smiled slightly before resuming his meal. He wondered if this was what it was like when Cloud was there…stupid big brother. Wait, what? Big brother? Where did _that_ come from? Cloud wasn't his big brother, but something told him he referred to him as such in the past.

"Um, Earth to Loz!" Tifa said with a small laugh. "You still with us?"

He shook his head slightly, banishing the unwanted thought to the back of his mind. "Sorry, I was drifting off, I think."

He spent the rest of the meal watching Tifa interact with the children. He was a little surprised that they all could have had such negative reactions to seeing him again, but still be able to move past it and easily accept the change in who he was now. She was a good mother to the children and she had a kind heart. He smiled to himself as he finished the food, just enjoying a normal moment with a normal family.

"Did you want anymore?" Marlene asked when she saw his empty bowl.

"No, I'm stuffed," he said.

"Okay you two, school starts next week, so it's time to start going to bed at a decent time," Tifa said as she gathered the dishes up and put them in the sink. "So go on up and get washed up. I'll be up in a moment so you better be all settled and ready for bed."

The two children grumbled but dutifully said their goodbyes to Loz before trudging up the stairs. Tifa shook her head once they were gone.

"They do this every time," she said.

He watched her fill the sink and start washing the dishes. "Do you find it hard parenting children who aren't really yours?"

She shrugged. "Not really. They're both such sweet kids and a real pleasure to be around. It was a little more difficult with Denzel at the beginning though. He lost his parents when Sector Seven was destroyed. Cloud found him wandering around and he was really sick. Poor little thing felt so alone at first and getting him to come out of his shell was very difficult, but Cloud was a big help with that. He saw a lot of himself in Denzel's pain and he was able to not only work out his own demons, but he was also able to show Denzel he wasn't alone."

"They're both lucky to have you in their lives," he said as he got to his feet. He absently picked up a dishcloth and started drying dishes. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked slightly. "You seem to have a thing for lonely orphans."

She raised an eyebrow and looked up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Jake said you help out at the local orphanage when you can," he said with a shrug. "You took in a kid you didn't even know, you look after your friend's daughter, and you're kind of taking me under your wing too."

Tifa blushed slightly. "Well, it was the least I could do for you after we got off on the wrong foot again."

"Well, I'm glad we're both on the right foot this time," Loz said as he dried the last of the dishes.

Tifa put the lid on the pot of leftover chili and slid it into the fridge before turning and smiling up at Loz.

"I'm glad we are too," she said. She reached into the cupboard and pulled out two wine glasses. She handed them to Loz along with the bottle of wine he had brought with him. "I just have to tuck the kids in and I'll meet you in the living room. We can share a glass of wine too, unless you have to get going?"

He shook his head. "No, I'd like to stay if you're offering."

She nodded happily. "I'd love the company. I'll just be a minute."

Tifa and Loz walked up the stairs together but parting ways when Loz went into the living room and she went on to the children's room. She quietly opened the door and they were both in bed reading books, though they both looked up and smiled when she entered.

"You guys were really good tonight," she said as she sat at the end of Denzel's bed. "I'm so proud of you for being so nice to Loz."

"He's kinda like a big kid," Denzel said. "He knows a lot of stuff, but then there's a lot he doesn't know. Who hasn't had chili?"

Marlene giggled. "Even when he was bad before, he always wanted to play and have fun. Only looking for his mother came first. If it wasn't for his mission, I think he would be happy to just play all the time, but his idea of playing was weird."

"Well, regardless of his past, you two just showed me that there is hope for this world…at least with you two," she said with a wink. She got to her feet and kissed Denzel on the forehead, before going to Marlene and kissing her cheek. "Now, you can both stay up and read for an hour, but then I want you both to try and get some sleep."

They both nodded and said good night as Tifa walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. She made her way along the corridor and walked into the living room. Loz was sitting on the sofa and had already poured them each a glass of wine. She happily dropped to the sofa and picked up the glass in front of her.

"How is everything going for you?" she asked.

He shrugged and sipped the wine in his glass. "It's okay. I haven't had any nightmares since the last one. Is Cloud still mad at you?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I'm sorry he hit you. How is your face?"

"It's okay," he assured her. "Jake helped me cast cure on it."

"That's good," she said with smile.

They were silent for a moment, both sipping their wine. Finally, Loz turned towards her while putting his glass on the table in front of them.

"Is interacting like this supposed to be so awkward?" he asked.

Tifa was surprised by the question. "Well, getting to know people can be a long process."

"It seems unnecessarily long in this case," he said, frustrated that he was having a hard time expressing himself to her. "If I knew what you know about our past, it wouldn't take so long."

"I know it must be frustrating to be the only one who doesn't know you," Tifa said carefully. "But if you gain your memories, and lose who you are now, it would be a loss to us all."

"Was I really that bad?" he asked.

Reno's warning ran through her head, but she pushed it aside as she saw the torment behind his eyes. "I don't really know. We only met once. It was an intense first meeting, but it's all the personal experience I've had with you before now."

"But people have a right to be scared of me, don't they?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he nodded. "Sometimes silence is its own answer, Tifa."

"Why does it matter?" she asked. "Aren't you happy?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I like waking up and going to the shop. Working on bikes is kind of soothing. It let's me think. I don't like knowing I'll have to interact with strangers. But I don't care what anyone thinks if I'm coming to see you."

Tifa blushed at his bold admission. "Seeing me really makes you feel better?"

"You make me feel like what I have done isn't a mountain I'll never be able to climb," he said honestly. "I like being around you. You seem so centered."

She laughed softly. "Don't be fooled. It's all just an act. Really, I'm a basket case."

He smiled. "If you say so."

"Enough of all this heavy conversation," Tifa said with a smile. "Tell me about what you're going to do to that sad little bike of mine!"

Loz began going over how he planned on taking it down to just the base so he could basically gut the thing right down to the body and drop a new more powerful engine into it. When he was talking about bikes, he seemed excited and almost childlike in his joy for what he was planning to do. She listened to him, but was also looking him. His eyes, which had been the most disconcerting thing about him to her at first, were now her favorite things to look at. His short hair seemed to naturally hold the style she considered his trademark and his long narrow sideburns, which would have probably looked ridiculous on anyone else, just accentuated his strong jaw line. Her eyes trailed down to his lips and she sighed inwardly. He had an expressive mouth. He was probably the only man she could think of who could pull off one of the most sexy smirks she had ever seen. Most men either ended up sneering unpleasantly or leering like a creepy pervert. His smile was even better, though it didn't make a lot of appearances.

"As for a color though, I haven't decided," he said cutting across her thoughts.

"What, you don't think pink is a perfect color?" she asked teasingly.

He smirked his perfect smirk and his perfect eyes sparkled with mischief. "Pink is just too girly and quite frankly I'm disappointed in you, Tifa. You're a tough little barmaid who doesn't take any crap from any man in your bar and you have a _pink_ motorcycle? And not just pink…it's _hot_ pink. How did that happen?"

She laughed as she covered her eyes in embarrassment. She lightly slapped his arm, causing him to chuckle before putting her wine down. "Give me a break! I was fifteen when my dad told me it was time to pick out a bike for me. I had just gotten my learner's permit and I had my heart set on that hot pink bike! I had wanted it ever since I laid eyes on it. My dad said 'if that's the one my little Tifa wants, then that's the one we'll get. But don't blame me when you're answering to someone later in life as to why you picked that one'. So, his prediction came true."

Loz sipped his wine and nodded. "Your dad is a smart guy. Does he live around here?"

Her face fell slightly. "No, my dad died almost eight years ago. It wasn't long after I got my bike."

He frowned slightly. "What happened?"

"He was killed by a man who was supposed to help my village," Tifa said as she remembered the day Nibleheim burned in Sephiroth's wake. "Shinra was a bad company run by a bad man. It was the current president's father and he didn't want anyone stopping his plans for the planet. Shinra used to tap into the planet's Lifestream and use it to generate power. But the reactors near my home began to leak mako energy and monsters were popping up everywhere. Shinra sent two of its best first class ranked SOLDIER members to investigate. One of them was a great general, famous for his skills as a warrior, but he wasn't what he seemed. He was falling into madness and this mission drove him over the edge. He burned my village and he killed my father." She wiped a tear from her eye and was aware that Loz had rested his hand on hers and was watching her intently. She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "I even confronted him. He had left his sword by my father's body and I attacked him with it. That was probably the stupidest thing I could have done and I have the scar to prove it."

"I'm sorry I asked," Loz said.

Tifa smiled and shook her head as she rubbed away the stubborn tears. "Don't be sorry. You didn't know."

He hesitantly reached out and brushed a tear aside with his thumb. He watched in fascination as she closed her eyes and sighed before leaning her face against his hand. His chest tightened with the desire to protect her and take away any pain she felt. Without really thinking, he leaned in and gently placed his lips on hers, allowing his instincts to guide him as he went. He pulled back and looked down at her surprised eyes. They looked at one another silently before they both leaned closer and restarted the kiss. Tifa wrapped her arms around his neck while he pressed her closer to him with his hands on her back. Tifa gasped against his mouth when he instinctually parted her lips to deepen their kiss. He was awakening a basic instinct within her that had laid dormant for too long and now, given just a little attention, was screaming to get out and be given some attention. His technique told her that at some point he might have had some practice and that made her curious to see what he was bringing to the table.

She let him push her back so she was on her back while he was over her resting his weight on his forearms so as not to crush her and limit her movements. Their kissing was the type of kissing shared between two people who had just become aware of an attraction between them. There was a sexual chemistry brewing between them, but it wasn't at a pitch yet where it was driving them to sleep together. It was enough to kiss each other and learn what each other liked. He lifted his lips from hers, but instead of ending their moment, he trailed kisses along her jaw and down the column of her neck, finding her favorite spot to be kissed almost instantly. He sensed the ripple of pleasure that went through her when his lips touched the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulders.

He rested his head against her chest and sighed. "I like your heart."

She smiled slightly and looked down at the silver head of hair. "What?"  
"I like your heart," he repeated. "You have so much room in it for everyone and you share it with people who don't necessarily deserve it…people like me. That's why you have such a strong heartbeat."

"That is so sweet," she said as she kissed the top of his head.

She was disappointed when he pushed himself back into a seated position, but she let him pull her up. Her disappointment faded though when he pulled her into the crook of his arm. She was surprised by how much she missed cuddling.

After a few minutes of silence, he sighed. "I should probably get going. I have an early morning tomorrow. I have to get started transforming a hot pink girl's bike into a badass show piece bike."

Tifa laughed and nodded as she pushed herself to her feet. "Well, then you have a lot of work to do."

He smiled and nodded. "Thanks for dinner."

"No problem," she said dismissively. "If you're ever hungry and too tired to make anything, come on over. I have two kids constantly in growing spurts living here so there is always tons of food!"

"I'll keep that in mind," he said as they walked down the stairs together. When he reached the door, he turned and looked down at her. "I hope I wasn't out of line up there."

"Not at all," Tifa said blushing slightly. "It's been a while since I've connected like that with anyone, so thank you."

He nodded and lightly kissed her cheek. "Good night, Tifa."

"Good night, Loz," she said as she watched him walk into the alley start his bike.

Once he was out of sight, she closed the door and locked it. She switched out the lights and quietly made her way upstairs. She opened the door to the children's bedroom and peeked around the corner. Both of them were fast asleep, so she quietly shut the door. She went to her own room and shut the door before she began undressing for bed. She pulled her shirt over her head as she went to her dresser to pull out her pajamas. She passed a mirror and caught sight of herself in the reflective surface, her eyes naturally going to the long scar on her chest. She absently fingered the long mark before frowning.

"You can't have him, Sephiroth," she said angrily. "I won't let you have him."

If she listened hard enough, she could almost hear the cold baritone laughter of the general…but only if she tried.


	9. Voices

Author's note: Thank you for the continued support of this story! I'm updating as best I can until my stupid internet provider gets it's ass in gear and reconnects my service! :( Anyway, shout outs to SakR9 & Sickweirdo! SakR9, I've combined shirtlessness AND showering just for you! :D And Sickweirdo, I added some conflict for Tifa. There will be more as the Tifa/Loz action heats up so let me know if I'm off to a good start with her turmoil! :) And Shreddie J, you are just awesome and I am glad you are enjoying this story so far!

Enjoy the update and I can't wait to hear what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

**Chapter 9**

Tifa looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. She had dreamed of a night exactly like the one she had just…only she had always pictured it with Cloud. She closed her eyes began cleaning her skin and applying some toner. She had loved Cloud for such a long time and she still loved him…just not the same way anymore. She had been as understanding as possible as he mourned all the loss he had suffered. But he had left her with all the responsibility of his business and the children. When they had started off together, she had pictured a daily struggle to make ends meet, but knew in the end everything would be okay…because they had each other. But as time passed on, she began to realize Cloud wasn't able to help her because he couldn't even help himself.

At first, she had tried to help him beat his demons, but he wouldn't let her. It was almost like he thought if he didn't have his demons, he would lose himself. As she worked to provide a roof over her head and the heads of the children, she had less time to help Cloud with his inner battle. All she could do was make sure he had a place to rest if his head…if he ever wanted or needed it. They had begun to drift apart and her dreams of them together as a real family began to drift away, crushed under the reality that she had responsibilities to maintain if she wanted to help Denzel and Marlene. She couldn't chase Cloud anymore, trying to make him see that she could help him if only he would let her in.

Tifa again looked at herself in the mirror. It was true that she had given up on a romantic love blossoming between her and Cloud. She had imagined that one day a man would arrive in her life and make her forget her love for a man that had begun in childhood…but she never would have thought that man would be one of Sephiroth's silver-haired remnants! She groaned softly as she applied some facial cream. She was torn in her feelings. Loz had done terrible things and he had tried to kill Cloud. She knew he was a bad guy, but to see him now…it really confused her. He seemed quiet and happy to repair and improve motorcycles. He was so different from the man in the church. He had no idea what he had done to upset an entire town, yet he accepted their anger as something he couldn't change and his determination to live the life he was given a second chance at was something she admired in him.

She enjoyed his kisses and the way he had touched her, but now in the harsh light of her bathroom with just her reflection, she could feel the guilt…the guilt of not being strong enough for Cloud…the guilt of feeling an attraction to a man who was a part of the man who killed her father and her friend…and the guilt of wanting to know more about the silver-haired man and what else he could make her feel.

* * *

Loz held his hand under the stream of water and decided it was warm enough to start his shower. He had taken to showering at night after his nightmare because it seemed to make him sleepy. He stood under the hot spray of water before soaping up his hands and washing himself. As he stood there, he smiled to himself, remembering the kisses he had shared with Tifa. Her lips had been so soft and her mouth had been so warm. She had tasted as sweet as he imagined and he was excited to taste her lips again. She made all the heartache he felt every day from the world around him disappear with just a smile and a kind word.

He splashed water on his face and rinsed the soap from his body before turning off the water and pushing the curtain aside. He reached out and grabbed a towel from the rack beside the shower. As he dried his legs he remembered the feeling of Tifa beneath him. She had held him and touched him and it awakened possessive feelings within that he hadn't even known existed. He wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out onto the tiled floor. He wiped the steam from the mirror and pushed his wet hair out of his face.

He studied himself and wondered what she saw when she looked at him. Clearly, the first few times she had seen him had _not_ brought back good memories. Though when he saw her, he had felt…excited. It had been such a strange sensation for him, especially after her reaction to him. What could have possibly happened between them that he would have enjoyed, yet scared her. He frowned as he looked at himself. Maybe he didn't want to know?

_She plays games with us_, the unwanted voice he hadn't heard for a while said.

"Shut up," Loz muttered.

_Is that any way to speak to man who made your existence possible?_

Loz glared at his reflection. "I don't know you and I don't _want_ to know you!"

The voice laughed. _You are getting too close to that booze-slinging whore_.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Loz snarled. "She's kind."

_She'll change once you return to who you really are,_ the voice said. _Women are fickle and cannot be trusted. They will attack you with your own sword as soon as you turn your back on them._

"I'm not listening to you," Loz said as he turned away from his angry reflection.

_She'll never love you like she loves Cloud_, the voice taunted.

Loz stopped, but didn't respond. Instead, he continued walking out of the bathroom and shut the lights out, ignoring the laughter of disembodied voice. He was determined to ignore the cruel voice and began to pull on soft black cotton pants he used for sleeping and a white tank top.

_You can't shut me out, Loz_, the voice inside his head said mockingly. _I am with you no matter where you go. I'm there when you're working, I'm there when you're sleeping, and I'm even there when you're with _her_. That's right. When you were kissing her and touching her, it was like _I_ was kissing her and touching her_.

Loz could feel the tears of frustration creeping up on him. "Just leave me alone! Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

_What I want is for you to remember who you are_, the voice said coldly. _I want you to be what I wanted you to be! I want you, my remnant, to make me live again._

"I am not a remnant of anyone!" Loz yelled at the empty apartment. "I am a person with my own life and no one can stop me from living it! If you're dead, you had your chance! Now it's my turn!"

_Why are one's children so willful? Children should know their place,_ the voice mused. _Maybe it would help you to know about your past?_

Loz was tempted. He wanted to know what everyone else knew…but he didn't want to lose what he had gained. Tifa and the children liked him. So did Gus and Jake. If he learned about his past what if it brought back his old personality? Tifa didn't like the old him and he didn't want her to return to hating him. But what if part of his attraction to her was that she was unattainable? That didn't seem to make sense though.

_Don't fight it_, the voice urged. _Let me make it better for you. Let me ease your pain_.

Loz shook his head. "No! You will bring more pain!"

_Mother can soothe you_, the voice said.

Loz's frown eased slightly. "Mother?"

_Yes_, the voice said. _You remember mother, don't you?_

Loz suddenly remembered saying something to someone. He concentrated for a moment. "Mother will know what's best," he murmured. "I said that."

_That's right, Loz,_ the voice said. _Mother will always know best._

Loz frowned and shook his head. "No. Mother is bad!"

_Well, that depends on whom you ask,_ the voice said with a smirk. _Where are you going, Loz?_

"Tifa can help me," he muttered.

The voice chuckled. _We're going back to see little Miss Lockheart are we? Please, do continue where we left off_.

"Leave her alone!" Loz growled.

_I can't help it if you carrying me around with you,_ the voice said mockingly. _Your temper is just so…me._

Loz covered his ears. "Shut up, shut up, shut…up!"

"Hey, is everything okay in there?"

Loz looked up and was glad for the impromptu visitor. He felt dizzy as he made his way through his apartment to the front door.

_Damn,_ the voice muttered irritably. _Those Turks always try to ruin my fun!_

"Reno," Loz said as he opened the door. He stepped forward, but the dizziness was too much and collapsed backwards.

"Damn," Reno said as he hurried into the living room. He pulled out his phone and dialed his partner's number. "Rude, yo! I have a problem up here. The remnant's doing his best Sleeping Beauty impression up here!" He snapped the phone shut and helped Loz sit up. "What's goin' on big guy?" he asked.

"Something bad is happening," Loz said quietly. "My head hurts."

"Just tell me what happened, man," Reno said as he sat on the floor beside him.

"I'm hearing voices," Loz said as tears welled up and finally dropped from his eyes. "Well, just one voice. And I'm not dreaming. He knows about Cloud and Tifa, and he says he's me…or that I'm him. He said mother would make everything okay."

"This voice got a name yet?" Reno asked, already knowing the answer.

"He hasn't said," Loz said as he shook his head.

Reno knew the day would come that he would regain his memories and apparently Sephiroth was getting impatient. He sighed and touched the remnant's arm. "I know you don't want to do this, but just concentrate. Try to remember anything."

"What's going on?" Rude asked from the door.

Reno turned and looked up at him. "I think it's time."

A small pull at the corner of Rude's mouth gave away his concern. Anyone other than Reno wouldn't have noticed it.

"The president did say it may come down to this," Rude said. "We should prepare for…hostile reactions."

Reno nodded and got to his feet, pulling out his elecro-mag rod in preparation of anything Loz may throw at them. Loz looked up at them, fear and confusion mingling on his tormented features.

"I don't want to remember," he said.

Reno felt kind of bad for the big lug. "I know man, I wouldn't either, but it seems like your invisible friend refuses to just let sleeping dogs lie, yo. So just focus on what he's been saying and see if you can remember anything."

Loz closed his eyes. "He keeps talking about how I'm a part of him. He wants me to make him live again." He opened his eyes and looked up at the two Turks. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"I never _did_ understand that part, man," Reno said before looking at Rude. "Do you get it?"

"They don't pay me enough to get it," Rude said dryly.

Loz shook his head. "He said mother always knows what is best."

"Do you remember mother?" Rude asked.

Loz shook his head, a strange look coming over his face. "I never saw her and I never knew her…but I always wanted to find her. I would have done anything to find her. But, it was never really mother calling me. It was someone else." He frowned slightly before glaring at no one in particular. "It was _him_!"

Loz could hear the disembodied chuckle of the man who tormented him. _Guilty,_ he said.

"He told us he was mother," Loz said. He frowned again when he realized what he had just said. "Us? I wasn't alone. They were…my family."

"Maybe we should take him to Healen," Rude said as he looked at Reno.

The red head nodded. "Yeah, before this gets out of hand. Come on, Sideburns. We're taking you somewhere where they can help."

He looked up at him. "Please…don't make me. I don't want to remember."

Reno sighed and shrugged. "I don't think it's a choice anymore, man."

* * *

Cloud looked down at his phone. There were missed calls and unanswered text messages from his friends again. The only difference was there was only one missed call from Seventh Heaven and two unanswered text messages from Tifa. Before, it would have been just Tifa trying to contact him and force him to keep in touch with the real world. He must have finally done what he never thought he could…he pushed her so far away that she didn't want to even bother trying to find the way back to him.

He snapped the phone shut and slid it into his pocket. He sighed in frustration and looked around the dark cave. He and the two Turks hadn't found anything yet. It was just another dead end forcing Cloud to accept that he may have been wrong about Loz.

_So, Cloud, you're giving up so easily? This was easier than I thought_, a voice said.

Cloud frowned and looked around. He was alone…well, not really alone, but both Elena and Tseng were too far away to be the voice Cloud was hearing. He would know that voice anywhere.

_No answer? Well, that's just rude_, the voice admonished.

"You're dead," Cloud said with a frown as he got to his feet.

_Surely you can't have my lessons already Cloud,_ the voice said tauntingly. _Some minor inconvenience like death can't stop me._

"You can't return again," Cloud said. "Jenova is dead."

_Now Cloud, you of all people should know I'm not that easily deterred_, Sephiroth admonished.

"The last of the Jenova cells are gone," Cloud insisted. "You can't be reborn without them."

Sephiroth chuckled. _Do you really think that I would bother wasting my time tormenting you if I had no way to return?_

"Loz would need Jenova cells to bring you out of him," Cloud said. "He has no Jenova cells to use!"

Again Sephiroth chuckled. _They're not all gone Cloud_.

Cloud frowned. "Kadaj used the last of them when he brought you out, Sephiroth. Jenova is gone and you can finally become a memory."

_True, my mother's remains were destroyed_, Sephiroth agreed. _However, you are _wrong_ Cloud. Jenova cells _do_ exist. _

"No, they don't!" Cloud yelled at the voice.

"Cloud? What's wrong?" Elena called as she hurried to stand in front of him. "Cloud? Can you hear me? Tseng? Something's wrong with Cloud! Come on, Cloud, answer me!"

Tseng frowned when he reached Elena and Cloud. Cloud was frowning and suddenly a look of horror crossed his face. He blinked and shook his head. When he saw the two Turks standing beside him, he seemed surprised but then his terrified look reappeared.

"Cloud? What's wrong?" Tseng asked. "What happened?"

"Sephiroth," Cloud said quietly. "Sephiroth is speaking to me."

Elena pulled out her gun. "Where is he Cloud?"

He gently pushed her weapon down as he shook his head. "He's not out here, he's in here," he said as he pointed to his head.

"Sephiroth is speaking to you in your mind?" Tseng asked.

_They don't believe you_, Sephiroth taunted.

"They will believe me, Sephiroth!" Cloud said angrily. He looked at the two confused Turks. "I know you can't hear what he's saying, but he's here with me."

"But how?" Tseng asked. "You are not a remnant of Sephiroth."

_Oh, this one is brilliant_, Sephiroth said sarcastically. _No wonder he's The Director_.

Cloud ignored Sephiroth. "He said he could use the Jenova cells Shinra put inside me to draw power from. And since Loz isn't a true remnant of Sephiroth now, he can use the Jenova cells your scientists said were dormant in him as well!"

"We have to get back right now," Tseng said. "Elena, call the president and tell him what's going on. It may be necessary to inform the remnant of his past after all."

"I'm on it, Tseng!" she said with a nod before pulling out her phone.

Sephiroth's chuckle sounded in Cloud's head. _You won't be able to stop me, Cloud. Not this time_.

"You have to stop him," Cloud said as he looked at Tseng.

_It's not their job to finish what you started Cloud,_ Sephiroth said. _This is between you, me, and the remnant._

"What does he have to do with it?" Cloud asked.

_Everyone needs a living legacy, Cloud,_ Sephiroth answered. _He should have been my living legacy, but that interfering ancient removed his memories of me and the reunion. Now he's fighting me and I'll have to hurt him. No one wants to hurt their children, Cloud. You of all people should know that._

"Don't you even dare to think of those kids, Sephiroth!" Cloud snapped.

_Oh, so you do care. I was beginning to wonder,_ Sephiroth taunted. _I wonder if Tifa knows or if she's just decided it doesn't matter anymore. Especially since she has my remnant tripping all over himself to make up for something he doesn't even remember. Are you jealous Cloud? Are you jealous that she was able to find a replacement for you so easily? And with a man who is a part of me?_

Cloud wanted to fight his words, but in the end, Sephiroth had touched on his greatest fear. He had ignored Tifa and the kids in favor of nurturing his intense feelings of guilt. She had loved him and never demanded anything in return and he had always assumed she would still be there waiting. Now she was already letting him go. She was done chasing a man who couldn't be bothered to even answer a simple text message.

_She may have a point, Cloud,_ Sephiroth said almost casually. _But to move on with one of _my_ remnants…that's just twisted._

"Cloud, we're leaving," Tseng said forcefully. "You have to ignore Sephiroth."

Cloud shook his head a couple of times. "I know."

"Tseng!" Elena called as she hurried over to them. "We're supposed to take him to Healen. Sephiroth attacked the remnant too and Reno and Rude are taking him there."

Tseng nodded. "Then we must leave immediately.

* * *

Tifa cursed her blushing as she walked into the Axel's Custom Bikes shop area. She wanted to see Loz again and the pretense she was using was bringing him some of her leftover chili. _Heaven forbid I just tell him I wanted to see him,_ Tifa mentally chastised herself.

"Tifa?" Jake asked from behind her. "You looking for Loz?"

Tifa turned around and smiled, her prepared speech for a situation like this ready to go. "Yeah, I had him over last night for some dinner and he really liked the chili, so I brought him some leftovers, you know, before the kids get to it."

He nodded uneasily. "Maybe you should come into my office."

"Okay," she said slowly, not liking where this seemed to be going. She followed him into his office just off the shop and waited for him to close the door before sitting and looking up at him. "Okay, what's the problem? Where's Loz?"

Jake sat down and sighed uneasily. "Dad and I know he's one of those guys who showed up and nearly destroyed Edge with that…thing from the sky."

Tifa nodded. "It's not hard to forget a man like him."

Jake nodded. "President Shinra asked us to take him in. We didn't just find him. They wanted someone to keep an eye on him when the Turks couldn't. Well, after he got home last night, he started regaining his memories. It was like he was shouting at someone, or so Reno said. Anyway, his memories are returning so Reno and Rude took him out of Edge."

Tifa could only image what the Shinra scientists may do to him if they thought they could harness Jenova cells from him, not caring if they destroyed him in the process. She jumped to her feet and plopped the covered bowl of chili on Jake's desk.

"Here, it's all yours," she said as she turned to walk out.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked with a frown.

"I'm going to Healen," she said. "And don't even _think_ of warning any Turks or other Shinra employees that I'm coming. If you do, I'll be very upset and you don't want me upset."

She ran out of the shop and looked unhappily at her older model truck. It didn't have a lot speed behind it so it wouldn't get her where she was going fast, but it would have to do.

"Tifa!"

She turned and looked at Jake with a frown. "What?"

He handed her a set of keys. "I think I have just what you're looking for," he said with a wink. "It's got a lot of power and it's a quick little thing. It's brand new so you should take it for a test drive. The roads near Healen would be best because of the terrain."

She knew what he was doing and smiled before hugging him. "Jake, you are the best! Thank you."

"Like I always say, you and Cloud are our best customers," he said with a smile. "She's that dark blue one over there."

Tifa nodded and hurried over to the bike he had pointed to. She slipped the key into the ignition and hopped on as she fired up the engine. She sped out of the lot and headed for Healen. She wasn't going to let Shinra use him to harvest anymore of those damned Jenova cells…and she sure as hell wasn't going to let Sephiroth destroy him either!

* * *

Author's Note Part 2: I know it seems that we are now moving at a breakneck speed, but fear not, I have some more Tifa/Loz stuff up my sleeves, but to get to those, he has to have his memories back! :D


	10. Common Ground

Author's Note: Hello all! Internet is finally back! YAY! Anyway, thank you for all the reviews. I appreciate all suggestions and support. I must say my biggest challenges have been writing Cloud and Sephiroth. Cloud is very moody and Sephiroth is very…well, dead inside to be honest. I am trying to navigate making Cloud more likeable to myself and anyone else who found his constant moping in Advent Children annoying. Yes, he's been through a lot, but seriously! ;) So he may step a little OOC, which is on purpose. And Sephiroth is very dry and to the point. For the purposes of this story I wanted to keep Sephiroth's plan a secret as long as possible and it was hard to keep him in character because as Sickweirdo pointed out, he's more of a "here's my plan" in-your-face kind of guy, but now that his plan is pretty much in the open, I will endeavor to keep him in character as much as possible. I was originally not going to feature Cloud or Sephiroth as much as I have so far in this story, and they are both super hard to write. Any author who can do Cloud and/or Sephiroth stories and keep them believable for a sustained amount of time, you are my fanfiction hero! Anyway, enjoy all!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Cloud looked at the remnant through the one-way mirror. He was pacing and looking agitated, wringing his hands and then clenching them into fists. He was barely aware of Rufus appearing beside him.

"He is quite a specimen of strength," Rufus said. "Sephiroth outdid himself with that creation."

"Is he dangerous?" Cloud asked without looking at the man beside him.

"It is hard for us to really say with any certainty," Rufus admitted. "Without knowing how long Sephiroth will need to do whatever it is he plans on doing, any theories we may put forward will just be guesses."

Cloud finally turned and glared at the young president. "Shouldn't you be able to do more than just guess? Sephiroth is _your_ creation. Shouldn't you know him well enough to at least have some kind of idea as to how he can accomplish a return with the Jenova cells within us?"

Rufus shrugged. "It's true that Sephiroth is the creation of our scientists, but we can't truly know what goes on in Sephiroth's mind. If we were able to do that, don't you think we would have destroyed him before he descended into madness? My father was a ruthless man, Cloud. If he had been able to foresee what his creation would have done to us all, he would have had him terminated without a second thought."

They were both startled out of their conversation when Loz let out a cry of frustration before demolishing a table. Rufus smirked and looked at Cloud again.

"I hope you can handle him," he said before turning and walking away.

Cloud sighed and steeled himself for the confrontation he was _not_ looking forward to having. He moved towards the door and turned the handle. Loz immediately turned and looked at him, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"What do you want?" he growled.

Cloud closed the door behind him and faced the remnant. "It seems we have something in common."

"Yeah? And that is…?"

"We're both being tormented by a voice," Cloud said. "A voice who just doesn't know when his time is up and that it's time to disappear for good."

"You're hearing him too?" Loz asked, relief crossing his face.

"I already know him," Cloud admitted. "Do you remember him yet?"

Loz shook his head. "I don't _want_ to remember him. He says mean things and he wants to hurt people."

"You wanted to help him before," Cloud said.

Loz nodded. "I know. I remember that part. But I don't want to help him now. I like my life and I don't want it to change."

"But if you can remember everything, you might be able to tell us how he's planning to use us," Cloud pushed. "What you were looking for before, mother, doesn't exist anymore. It was destroyed. What we have to do is figure out how he plans to return without the help of mother and we can only do it together."

Loz frowned and closed his eyes. "Together…we'll play?"

Cloud instantly remembered Loz saying that exact thing to him after Yazoo had shot him before using a materia buildup to destroy themselves.

"You really are like a big kid," he murmured before stepping closer. "You said that to me once before. Do you remember that?"

Loz shrugged irritably. "A little…not really. I get these flashes once and a while that don't mean anything to me but that make people around me look at me like you are right now."

Cloud nodded. "I know what that's like…not sure if the memories you have are yours. We don't like each other, I can tell you that much, but sometimes we have to work with people we don't like."

Loz nodded, but looked at him hesitantly. "Are you afraid of me?"

Cloud smirked. "It's true you're really strong, but I'm strong too, so I'm not worried about it."

* * *

Tifa stormed up the stairs of the Shinra lodge away from the others at Healen. She flung the door open and just held her hand up, stopping Reno in his tracks, his hand still on his electro-mag rod.

"If you even _think_ of knocking me out, you will never be allowed to step one foot into my bar ever again!" she threatened.

"Aw, babe! Don't be like that!" he protested as he released his weapon. "I'm just doing my job."

Her face softened, but only slightly. "I know you were following Loz last night."

"And man was _I_ jealous!" he said. "Why don't you ever invite _me_ over for dinner, Teef?"

"Because you automatically assume that dinner leads to sex, Reno," she said as she rolled her eyes.

He smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "It doesn't?"

"Not for me and you," she said pointedly.

"How about for you and Sideburns?" he asked with a wink.

"You're a pervert, Reno," Tifa said as she folded her arms across her chest. "Now where is Loz?"

"He's under observation," Rufus said as he entered the room. "Go stand outside and make sure we aren't interrupted, Reno."

"You got it, boss man!" Reno said before leaving.

Tifa turned and looked at Rufus. "What's going on here?"  
"There have been some developments that you may be interested in, Miss Lockheart," Rufus said as he gestured towards a chair. "Please have a seat."

She reluctantly sat in the chair he had indicated and looked up at him. "Okay, so what's going on?"

"You know that Sephiroth has an unhealthy obsession with destroying this planet," Rufus said as he turned and walked around a desk, sitting in the chair facing her. "And he seems to have fixated on Cloud as the one who is standing in his way."

Tifa nodded. "Right."

"You have been spending time with the remnant, have you not?" Rufus asked.

Tifa blushed, but nodded. "I have."

"And he informed you of the nightmare he had of Sephiroth?" Rufus asked. Tifa again nodded. "Did he mention hearing a voice?"

Tifa frowned. "Only that he heard it in his nightmare."

"Sephiroth has been speaking to Loz," Rufus clarified. "And he has started speaking to Cloud too."

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "What? I thought Sephiroth's connection to Cloud was only possible because of the Geostigma and his connection to Loz was because he created him from parts of himself? How can he still torment them?"

"Sephiroth was the most perfect creation of Professor Hojo's experiments," Rufus said as he folded his hands on the desk. "He can survive in the Lifestream and we have no explanation for this. He drew power from crystallized mako energy and made himself practically into a god. How he can accomplish any of these things is still a mystery. Getting into the head of his nemesis and his remnant don't seem all that challenging given all he has been able to do in the past. However, Cloud did say that Sephiroth said he would be able to somehow use the Jenova cells that were placed in Cloud and the ones still remaining in Loz."

"So he needs both of them?" Tifa asked as she shook her head.

"It appears so," Rufus said. "We have them both here and Loz is beginning to remember his past. What we plan to do is to try giving them a Jenova cell suppressant to buy us enough time to figure out how we can stop Sephiroth…_if_ we can stop him."

Tifa nodded. "Can I see them?"

Rufus nodded and got to his feet. "Follow me."

Tifa got to her feet and followed Rufus. She stopped and looked into the room where Cloud and Loz were waiting. As she observed them through the observation mirror, she smiled slightly. The two men seemed to be looking at a piece of paper. Loz was pointing to something and Cloud was nodding in agreement. Then to her surprise, he even _smiled_ slightly.

"They seem to have made some progress in my absence," Rufus noted. He turned and looked down at Tifa. "I'll give you all some privacy."

"President Shinra?" Tifa asked quietly.

He turned and looked down at her. "Yes?"

"Did Loz begin to remember because I tried to force him to remember?" she asked.

He shrugged. "There's no way to tell. However, I think it is safe to say that Sephiroth is persistent and he would have prodded Loz's memory until he began to remember enough for Sephiroth to manipulate him. Now that he is regaining those memories on his own terms, it won't be as easy for him to be manipulated."

Tifa nodded, but guilt still ate away at her conscience. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Both Cloud and Loz looked up at her. They each smiled at her, but Cloud got to his feet and hugged her. She was surprised by his overt expression of happiness to see her.

"Tifa, am I glad to see you," he said softly.

Loz watched them as he tilted his head to the side. He was jealous to see their easy friendship with years of know each other giving them the intimacy he craved. But he was also relieved to see her again.

Tifa stepped back from Cloud and smiled. "I glad you're in one piece." She turned and looked at Loz before approaching him and kneeling in front of him. "And you look in much better shape than I was expecting. Why didn't you tell me about the voice?"

He shrugged. "I thought I was imaging it. And…well, everyone hated me and I didn't want to remember anything about the me who did that."

Tifa smiled sympathetically. "Everyone in this world is ashamed of something they've done in the past. You're no different."

"Some people have more to be ashamed of," Loz said sullenly.

Tifa smiled slightly as she looked from Cloud back to Loz. "Dilly-dally, shilly-shally. Are you teaching him how to mope, Cloud?"

Loz frowned and looked up at Cloud. "What is dilly-dally, shilly-shally?"

Cloud smirked. "It's something Tifa says when she thinks a person is too far introverted that it may damage their relationships with others."

"Huh?"

"Basically, she's calling bullshit on our self-pity," Cloud clarified.

"Oh," Loz murmured, still a little confused.

Tifa smiled and got to her feet before sitting on the table Cloud and Loz had been bent over earlier. She picked up the paper Loz and Cloud had been looking at when she had first entered the room and looked at it.

"So what's this? Your grand plan to finish Sephiroth off for good?" she asked as she looked at the diagram.

"I was just showing Cloud some of my ideas for your bike," Loz said with a shrug.

"He's got some great ideas, Tifa," Cloud admitted. "I still can't believe you sold your bike."

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "We need a new truck, Cloud. I can't keep driving the kids around in that piece of junk I call transportation. The money I got from Gus and Jake will be a nice deposit on something better. My dad would have wanted it that way."

They all looked up when the door opened and Rude entered. He looked at Loz and stepped aside.

"It's time to start the memory probe," he said without any expression.

Loz stiffened slightly, but got to his feet, refusing to let any tears fall. "Okay."

Tifa hopped down from the table and touched his arm. When he turned to face her, she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "We'll be here for you, don't worry."

He nodded, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Thanks."

Cloud waited until they were alone. "It's bad, Tifa."

"How bad?" Tifa asked.

"Bad enough that Loz and I have come to an agreement to work together instead of beating the hell out of each other," Cloud said.

"That bad huh?" Tifa said quietly. "Bad enough for the kids to go back to Wutai for safe keeping?"  
"I already called Yuffie," Cloud answered. "I don't want you anywhere near this."

Tifa frowned and sat on the table again. "I'm not leaving you two to fight in this alone. If Sephiroth is going to play head games with you, you're both going to need an anchor to the real world."

"Vincent can do that," Cloud insisted.

"Maybe for you, but Loz doesn't know him from a hole in the ground," Tifa pointed out.

"Reno could do it," Cloud pushed, seeing how far out on a limb his friend would go before the weight of her feelings broke it. "He and Loz seem to enjoy each other."

"Cloud, I want to do this," Tifa said insistently. "I'm your friend and his too. I can take care of myself."

_She couldn't take care of herself in Nibleheim,_ Sephiroth said dryly.

"You haven't faced her in a long time, Sephiroth," Cloud said out loud.

Tifa frowned. "Is he talking to you right now?"

Cloud nodded. "He took a low blow about Nibleheim."

Tifa pursed her lips, guessing at the nature of his taunt. "Well, you tell that son of a bitch that Nibleheim was a long time ago. I'm a big girl now."

Sephiroth chuckled inside Cloud's mind. _I can see that. I am intrigued to see how much of a fight she'll put up this time. The first time was disappointing at best._

Cloud smirked. "You'll regret longing for a rematch, Sephiroth."

_It is inevitable that she and I will meet again, Cloud,_ Sephiroth chuckled. _Until then, I'll just have to amuse myself with her exploits with my remnant_.

Cloud frowned and narrowed his eyes. "There won't be much to see soon."

"What's he saying?" Tifa asked.

"Now he's resorted to cheap comments about you and Loz," Cloud said.

Tifa narrowed her eyes and grabbed Cloud by the shirt. "Enjoy the show, you bastard." She released her hold on Cloud and blushed. "Sorry Cloud."

Cloud shook his head. "Don't worry about it."

_She's more fiery than I remember,_ Sephiroth mused. _Though, she did have enough nerve to attack me with my own sword before._

Cloud and Tifa both looked up when the door opened again and Tseng entered the room.

"Cloud, it's time to inject the suppressant," he said stoically.

Cloud smirked. "Time to say goodbye, Sephiroth."

_I'll be back, Cloud,_ he said with a smile in his voice. _Never worry that I won't return._

Tseng looked at Tifa. "Elena will take you to the remnant. We're having a few…cooperation issues."

Tifa nodded. She turned and smiled up at Cloud before hugging him. "We'll get through this, Cloud. I promise."

He hugged her back before pulling away to look down at her. "I know we will…because we're doing it together."

Tifa watched him walk out of the room with Tseng before stepping out into the hall to find Elena waiting for her.

"Come on, Tifa," she said with a smile. "The big lug just won't give into his memories. Can't say I blame him."

Tifa followed her down the hall and looked at her. "What can I do?"

Elena shrugged. "I'm not a scientist, I'm just a Turk. But he's asking for you, Tifa. I think he feels safer when you're there. He's just through that door."

Tifa nodded. "Thank you Elena." She put her hand on the doorknob and twisted it. When she entered, two men in lab coats looked up at her. They were standing beside the bed where Loz was laying. He was hooked up to monitors on his chest and there was a band around his head with electrodes that he was scratching at.

"Perhaps you can talk some sense into him," one of the scientists said irritably. "Without his cooperation, we could seriously damage his mind."

"Then at least _he_ wouldn't be able to use me," Loz snapped.

"Everyone calm down," Tifa said. She faced the two scientists. "Could I have a moment with him alone?"

The scientists nodded and left the room. Once they were alone, Tifa turned and smiled at him as she moved closer to the bed and took his hand in hers.

"I know it's scary," she said softly. "And I know you'd rather not ever remember your past, but knowledge gives us power."

"It also gives Sephiroth power," Loz said. "I don't want him to have any more power than he already has."

"He won't be ignored, Loz," she said. "He will push you until you break and if it gets that far, you might lose yourself."

"The memories are knocking at a door in my mind," he said as he squeezed his eyes shut. "They want to be remembered, but I don't want to. Those Shinra scientist will hurt me!"

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Then let me help you remember. If we do this together, maybe it won't be so bad."

Loz looked at her doubtfully, but nodded. "Okay."

She smiled and nodded as he closed his eyes. "I met you at that church we went to together the other day. It was a sunny day and Marlene and I were waiting for Cloud. The door opened and at first we thought it was Cloud…but it was you. You sauntered into the light and smirked at me. You held out one hand and said…"

"You wanna play?" he finished, his eyes still closed and a slight frown on his face. Tifa sat in silence to see if he was remembering that day. "I guess that's a no. Where's mother?"  
Tifa nodded, her stomach tightening with nerves. He seemed to be remembering and there was no way to know what he would become with his past and present selves meshed together. Who would be the dominant one? She swallowed her nerves and continued.

"You stopped walking as though you had just noticed something," she pushed slightly.

His frown deepened with disgust. "Flowers. Oh, gross! Where's mother?"

"There's no one here," Tifa said, the memory of that day as fresh as the day it had happened.

Loz smirked slightly. "Fine. Play with me."

"I knew you wouldn't leave peacefully, so I pulled on my gloves and decided I was going to give you a run for your money. I wasn't sure if I could beat you, but I was going to try my hardest!"

"Huh, this'll be fun," he said as his eyes snapped open. He looked around the room wildly, making Tifa nervous. She let go of his hand and stepped back, watching him look around distrustfully. His eyes eventually found her. "I remember. We fought. You were so fun to play with. It was the best fun I had ever had."

Tifa was surprised at how he described their fight. She had enjoyed it until… "You cheated," she said.

He smirked and chuckled. "I wanted to play with you all day, but Kadaj said I had to bring the kid and get back before brother came looking for the other kids. I had to cheat if I wanted to get out of there on time."

Tifa remembered him straddling her body and lifting her off the ground as he had pointed his weapon at her face. "You were going to kill me until Marlene threw that materia at you."

"That kid is pretty brave," Loz said appreciatively. "When I took her, she kept trying to escape, even after Kadaj tried to frighten her." His smile faded away as the floodgates of memories opened all at once. "I blew up brother. No wonder he punched me in the face when he saw me again." He turned and looked at her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Why were you so nice to me?"

Tifa blinked at the question that was almost an accusation. "Because you were lost. You needed my help."

"You tried to force these memories out of me!" he said, anger welling up inside of him.

"I didn't believe you had lost your memories," Tifa said, trying to remain calm in the face of his obvious anger. "When I saw what I was doing, I stopped. I didn't want to hurt you and I thought if Aeris returned you from the Lifestream you must have a purpose in this world."

Loz's anger dissipated slightly. "Aeris? Do you mean the lady in the light? She told me I had to come back because I wasn't done here."

Tifa smiled slightly. "And who are we to argue with the Lifestream?"

"Haven't I done enough?" he asked.

Tifa was relieved to see he had retained some of his new persona. "Do you remember everything that happened when you were working towards your reunion with mother?"

He nodded. "Most of it."

"And how about everything since returning?" she asked.

He looked up at her and nodded slowly. "I remember all of that. I'm confused."

She stepped closer to him and hesitantly touched his shoulder. "What's got you confused?"

"You confuse me, Tifa," he said with a frown. "I hurt you, took those kids from you, nearly destroyed a city already recovering from near destruction, and I tried to kill brother, your friend. How could you care about me at all? I'm not one those orphans you care about. I'm just a remnant of a great man."

Tifa pursed her lips. "You are _not_ just a remnant of Sephiroth and you know what? He wasn't that great anyway! If he was so great, he wouldn't have descended into madness just because of how came into existence!"

Loz grabbed his head suddenly and groaned in pain. Tifa leaned closer and moved her hand to his back. His head suddenly shot up as he narrowed his eyes at her. She was shocked when she was looking into pale green, slit-pupil eyes once more.

"You should watch your mouth, Tifa!" he said before grabbing her by the shoulders and tossing her to the floor. He quickly got to his feet and ripped the monitors from his chest and pulled the electrodes from his head. He walked over to where Tifa had landed and grabbed her by the neck. He lifted her off of her feet and held her against the wall.

The door burst open and Cloud ran in with Reno and Rude. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the man holding Tifa impossibly high off the ground.

"Loz! Put her down!" Cloud demanded.

"It's not…Loz," Tifa choked out. "It's…Sephiroth!"

Loz dropped Tifa to the ground and turned to face Cloud and the two Turks. "Finally, we meet again, Cloud," he said in Sephiroth's voice.

"Oh, hell no," Rude said as he and Reno pulled out their electro-mag rods.

"It's game time, partner," Reno said with a smirk.

"I'm back and there is nothing you can do to stop me this time," Sephiroth said as he faced the men at the door. He held out his hand and his Masamune appeared in front of him. He gripped the handle and held it up above his head as he prepared to attack them. "It will end now!"

* * *

Author's Note Part 2: Gahhhh! I am mean! No worries, all is not hopeless and there is much more to come! The next chapter is finished and since my internet life has been spotty, the next chapter is ready to go and will be up shortly! :D


	11. Plans

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Tifa shook her head and looked up at Loz's back. She couldn't stand by and let Sephiroth take him. She jumped to her feet and threw herself at Loz's back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed.

"Let him go, Sephiroth!" she ground out.

He grabbed on her arms and pulled her from his back, throwing her to the ground again before turning to glare down at her. "Why are you in such a hurry to have a matching scar Tifa? Do you really need more to remember me by?"

Tifa glared up at him as he raised his sword above his head. "You have already taken so much from me and I won't let you take him too!"

He smirked and chuckled. "Oh, don't tell me you're in love with my remnant? That is too much! Isn't it a little sick to love a part of man who killed your father?"

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "He's not your remnant anymore, Sephiroth!"

"So you're not denying my accusations of love?" he taunted. "And how do you feel about that, Cloud?"

Sephiroth turned to face him, but instead found Cloud beside him. Cloud smirked as he glared at Sephiroth.

"It's time to say goodbye, Sephiroth!" he said before stabbing him in the neck with a syringe and injecting the Jenova cell suppressant into Loz's body.

Sephiroth pushed Cloud away from him, but it was too late. His Masamune faded away as he fell to his knees. He glared up at Cloud and narrowed his eyes. "Our goodbyes are temporary, Cloud. It won't be long until we meet again."

Loz collapsed to the ground and shuddered slightly. Tifa looked up at Cloud and shook her head.

"He's going to use the cells to take over your bodies, isn't he?" she asked anxiously.

Cloud nodded. "That's what it looks like."

Tifa looked at Loz as he rolled over onto his back. She crawled over to him and touched his face. "Loz? Can you hear me?"

He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. She smiled in relief when she saw his eyes had returned to the way they had been since he had returned. He looked from her to Cloud and grabbed his head as he sat up.

"What did you give me?" he asked.

"Something to suppress the Jenova cells," Cloud said. He touched Loz's arm and smiled slightly when the remnant looked at him. "It's nice to not have any unwanted company in my head anymore."

Loz frowned for a moment before smiling. "Silence. I never thought I be so happy to be alone."

"How long does that last?" Tifa asked.

"About four hours," Cloud answered. "The doctor said they could set us both up with a pump that monitors our vitals and automatically sends a new dose into our blood as it's needed. That way, we don't have to worry about missing a dose."

"Will we build up a tolerance to this suppressant though?" Loz asked.

Cloud sighed and nodded. "Eventually. We just have to find a way to stop him before that happens."

"So are you guys going to be trapped here then?" Tifa asked.

"That won't be necessary," Rufus said as he entered the room. "With Cloud and the remnant receiving timed…"

Tifa narrowed her eyes and glared at Rufus. "President Shinra, please refrain from referring to Loz as 'the remnant'. He has a name and even _you_ should be able to remember it."

Reno nudged Rude in the side and smirked. Cloud looked away to hide his own smirk and even Rufus' own lips were twitching as he tried to repress his laughter.

"My apologies, Miss Lockheart," he said seriously. "You are quite right to point out my lack of manners. As I was saying, Cloud and _Loz_ will be receiving automated treatments, they can return to Edge, or wherever they wish to go. However, when the medication is no longer working, the monitors will alert our scientists. Then it will be necessary to bring them back here to keep Sephiroth contained."

Loz snorted. "Spoken like a man who has no idea what he's dealing with."

"Excuse me?" Rufus asked with a frown.

Loz pushed himself to his feet and rolled his neck. "Once Sephiroth has his hold on us, you won't be able to contain us no matter what you do."

"He's right," Cloud said. "He feeds on the darkness we carry with us. He uses our feelings of guilt, sadness, unhappiness, and any other dark feelings we carry with us to manipulate us."

Loz nodded. "It's easier to just follow him because he makes you feel like no one out there cares about. He twists every good thing you have and makes you doubt it. With our defenses down, he can draw strength from our Jenova cells."

"And in each of our pasts, there are lots of dark places for Sephiroth to hide," Cloud said.

"Have all your memories returned, Loz?" Rufus asked.

Loz frowned. "No. I still don't remember a lot of the time I was with my…brothers. I need to figure that stuff out before I can tell you for sure if I know everything."

Cloud nodded. "I agree with him."

"Jake lent me a bike to get here," Tifa said. "We could…"

"No," Loz said. "I…need to be alone."

Cloud saw the familiar look of hurt on Tifa's face. It was a look he was familiar with since he was the one who usually put it there.

"Loz is right, Tifa," Cloud said. "He needs to be alone. I'll take you home and when you're ready, Loz, meet us back at Seventh Heaven."

"Sure," he said noncommittally.

Tifa slowly pulled the keys out and handed them to him. "Be careful."

He nodded. "I will."

"Come on, we'll get you fitted with one of those fancy pumps before you go soul searching," Reno said with a wink.

"He'll be fine," Cloud said once he was gone. "I know what he's dealing with and he just needs some time, Tifa. If we leave now, we can say goodbye to the kids."

* * *

Marlene hugged Tifa yet again. "All this moving around between daddy, you, and Yuffie can't be good for my growth as a person, Tifa."

Tifa smiled and hugged the girl back. "But think of it this way: your daddy can get to Wutai a lot quicker than here."

She smiled. "That's true."

"Besides, think of all the junk food Yuffie will let us eat!" Denzel pointed out.

"Another good point," Marlene said with a laugh.

"Hey guys, Yuffie's here," Cloud said as he stepped into the room. "Are you both packed?"

"Yep," Denzel said.

"You bet!" Marlene added.

"We're sorry about this guys, but Tifa and I both just want you to stay safe," Cloud said. "I hope you understand."

"Cloud, I know we're kids, but give us some credit," Denzel said with a smile. "If we're not here, I can't be turned into a mindless zombie!"

"And I can't be kidnapped," Marlene reasoned.

Cloud smiled and shook his head. "Sorry guys. I keep forgetting how smart you both really are."

"Get the lead out kids! I'm starving!" Yuffie called as she bounded into the room.

"They are all packed and ready to go," Tifa said with smile.

"Perfect! Once we're assembled in the bar, I'll call a cab," Yuffie said eagerly.

The kids smiled and grabbed their bags before following Yuffie. Cloud looked at Tifa and saw the wistful look on her face as she scanned the room. He stepped closer to her and touched her arm.

"They'll be fine Tifa," he assured her. "It's like a big adventure of their own to them."

"I know," Tifa said. "I'm just worried about everything. I'm worried about the kids, I'm worried about Loz, and I'm worried about you. I don't want Sephiroth to hurt you anymore, Cloud. He's done enough damage."

"He won't hurt us," Cloud said. "He's been beaten before. His arrogance is always his undoing."

"But Loz was right," Tifa said. "He has a lot of darkness within him and he is a part of Sephiroth. Sephiroth will have no trouble finding a way into his fears and bringing them to the surface."

Cloud could tell she was restless and truly worried for Loz. He sighed slightly. "Listen, Vincent and I will have a lot to talk about once he gets here," Cloud said. "If you need to find Loz, then go. The bar can be closed a little longer, Tifa. It's always dead in the middle of the week."  
Tifa nodded and hugged Cloud. "Thanks for understanding, Cloud."  
"Come on," Cloud said as he drew back from her embrace. "We should say goodbye to the kids."

Tifa and Cloud had just entered the bar when there was a knock on the front door. Tifa rolled her eyes and walked over to the door.

"We're closed!" she called through the door.

"Even for a pair of good Samaritans?" Reno called back.

Tifa opened the door and quirked an eyebrow. "Good Samaritans don't usually want something in return for their good deeds, Reno."

He smirked and winked. "Okay, how about babysitters?"

"Huh?" she asked.

"The president asked us to escort the kids back to Wutai, just as a precaution," Rude said.

"The kids have me," Yuffie said, affronted by the implication she couldn't take care of the children.

"Who said we were babysitting them, kid?" Reno asked with a smirk.

"You better watch your mouth, Turk," Yuffie threatened. "Or I'll knock your teeth out!"

"I'd like to see you try, short stuff!" he taunted.

"Does that mean we get to fly in a helicopter?" Denzel asked excitedly.

Reno turned his attention to the boy and smiled. "Ah, a future pilot huh? Yep, we'll be taking a bona fide Shinra helicopter with all the bells and whistles to Wutai. Maybe Rude will let you sit on his lap up front?"

"Sounds fantastic," Rude said dryly as he picked up the kids' bags and walked out of the bar.

"Bye Tifa, bye Cloud!" Marlene said as she hugged them and followed Rude.

"I'll call when we get there," Yuffie said as she followed Marlene.

"I'll take care of Marlene," Denzel assured them before walking out too.

Reno turned and looked at Tifa and Cloud. "We'll make sure they're safe, I promise," he assured them in a rare, yet sincere moment of seriousness.

When they were alone again, Tifa turned to face Cloud. "When are you expecting Vincent?"

"Any time, Tifa," he answered. He pulled out a set of keys and handed them to her. "Rufus gave us a Shinra motorcycle to use in case Loz and I both lose our minds to Sephiroth at the same time. He figured you might need a quick escape."

"Sometimes that man is a real ass," Tifa said before reluctantly taking the keys. "And sometimes, he does something good."

Cloud watched her toy with the keys for a moment before sighing. "You should go now and look for him. You know you won't feel better until you find him."

"I should stay here and help you figure out what to do," Tifa said as she touched his arm.

"Vincent and I can do that, Tifa," he assured her. "Besides, he needs you."

Tifa chewed her bottom lip before nodding. "Okay. Thanks Cloud."

Cloud watched her hurry into the kitchen and slumped against the counter when he heard the door close behind her. It hurt to watch her tend to someone else…to protect someone the way she had always protected him.

"Sometimes letting something go is harder than we ever imagined," Vincent said from the door.

Cloud rubbed his eyes. "You got that right, Vincent."

"What has happened, Cloud?" he asked.

"One of the silver-haired remnants is back," Cloud said. "And so is Sephiroth."  
Vincent nodded, giving no outward sign of being surprised or even slightly perturbed. "Is the remnant going to be a problem?"  
"No more than I am," Cloud said.

Vincent frowned slightly. "I think you're leaving something out."

Cloud snorted bitterly. "I'm leaving a lot out. The remnant was sent back by the Lifestream without his memories. Apparently, Loz had some unfinished life to live. But Sephiroth couldn't leave well enough alone. He's figured out a way to use the Jenova cells implanted in me as part of the SOLDIER program and the Jenova cells left in Loz. He's been plaguing us both with nightmares and by talking to us in our heads, trying to nest within the darkness we both still hold in our hearts. He even took over Loz's body at Healen. We have to figure out what his ultimate plan is so we can stop him."

"And what about Loz?" Vincent asked. "Is he an accomplice?"

Cloud shook his head. "He wants nothing to do with this, but Sephiroth isn't about to let him ruin his plans."

"Tifa left like she was on a mission," Vincent observed.

"She's off to find Loz," Cloud said. "She's worried for him. Apparently, she got to know him before I came back and now she wants to make sure he stays safe. You know Tifa, always a sucker for a hard-luck case."

Vincent nodded. "It takes a strong individual to forgive past crimes, Cloud. Tifa is lucky to have such a strong desire to allow others to make amends for past errors."  
Cloud knew he was including him in that statement. He turned and looked at Vincent. "I appreciate the fact that she was able to forgive me for abandoning her and taking it for granted that she'd always be here waiting for me. I even understand that it was unrealistic for me to assume nothing would change here. But my mind and my heart don't always agree."

"Those are the times in which we must force ourselves to take ourselves out of an equation and see what answers we find, Cloud," Vincent countered.

Cloud sighed. "And that's why it hurts. I finally realized I have been taking myself out of this equation for so long that even Tifa's taken me out of it in her head." Cloud straightened himself and shook his head. "We have more important things to worry about."

Vincent nodded. "Until we know if Loz holds any other information, we can only theorize what Sephiroth is planning. Tell me everything from the beginning, Cloud."

* * *

Author's note: More exposition! Blah! Anyway, I hope it's still good and everyone likes the direction this is heading. FYI, I am about to enter mature territory in the next chapter, so if you follow the story and can't find it one day, I've changed it to Mature! And thanks again to all my reviewers. Your encouragement is the highlight of my day always! :D


	12. Making a Connection  Mature

Author's Note: Welcome to Mature Land, Population: Tifa and Loz and anybody reading! :D If you are not a fan of mature scenes or are under 18, move along please. If you are a fan of such scenes and/or are over 18, keep reading and enjoy. More mature scenes to follow, but for now, it's a start! Let me know what you think and any improvements suggested may be seen in future mature scenes (providing the suggestions aren't gross or seriously twisted!). This is the first time I am publishing and sexy moments to the public, so please be gentle! And I hope it's not disappointing! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Loz sat beside the water in the Forgotten City. He absently trailed his fingertips along the glass-like surface of the water. His memories flooded his mind as he remembered his brothers and how they wanted nothing more than to find mother. Kadaj, the youngest had been the most obsessed with their mission, sometimes acting like it was his mission alone. It was almost as though his brothers didn't exist sometimes.

_"See, mother, all my new brothers and sisters? They can keep me company…just until I find you," he had said as he stood watching the children drink the black water._

Yazoo's age seemed to be between himself and Kadaj, making him the middle brother. He had spent the most time with him and liked his quiet countenance. It was a sharp contrast to the fury and restless energy that coursed through him and he was often able to maintain his own control just by being around him. They had often teased each other, especially regarding his emotions that usually expressed themselves in the form of tears.

_Yazoo took his gaze from brother crossing the Wastelands and observed him crying over the loss of mother. "Don't cry, Loz."_

They way he teased was more gentle than Kadaj. Kadaj always seemed to look at them as beneath him, but Yazoo was more like what a brother should be. Loz missed them, especially now when he was utterly alone.

However, brother seemed to be accepting him. They had found they had more in common than either of them thought was possible. Brother knew the pain of being alone…and holding such guilt within himself. He squeezed his eyes shut as he remembered the pain on Tifa's face when he had thrown her to the ground after dealing a direct bolt of energy from his Dual Hound into her stomach. She had looked half-dead as he had lifted her off the ground to give her another shot. His adrenaline had taken over as he began to give in to the urge to finish her off…even with a child there to witness her death.

And then there was the little girl. She had thrown the materia at him, accidentally drawing his attention to the chest of small treasures. It had also reminded him that his new task was to bring the girl back to Kadaj. She had been so terrified of him, trying to escape every chance she got.

The guilt he felt was tied to the fact that in spite of everything he had done, Tifa was able to look past it all and feel pity for his situation. She had let him into her home even after everything he had done to try and facilitate its destruction. She had even let him find comfort with her, providing him a place where he felt secure as Sephiroth tormented him. How could she find any room in her heart for someone like him?

* * *

Tifa should have tried the Forgotten City first. She walked between the trees and stopped when she saw him sitting by the water, apparently lost in thought. She knew that look well…it was one that haunted Cloud's features for a long time. It was unrepressed guilt. She continued walking towards him and kept walking even when he turned his head and looked up at her. He silently watched her, as she got even closer. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something, but all she did was lower herself to the ground and turn away from him, resting her back against his. He finally turned his head and stared straight in front of himself. They were silent for a few minutes before Tifa turned her head slightly.

"Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone when they're not looking you," she said casually.

He smirked slightly and nodded. "Yeah."

She waited a moment before taking a breath. "When we fought in the church, I was angry that you would further desecrate a place that was important to so many people. I was also pissed off that you were trying to frighten Marlene and me all for the sake of playing a game. But I also couldn't help but feel drawn to you as well."

Loz frowned and turned his head slightly. "What?"

Tifa smiled to herself and shook her head before looking over her shoulder at him. "I thought you were hot."

Loz smiled slightly. "You thought I was hot when I was kicking your ass?"

Tifa snorted slightly. "Um, _I_ was kicking _your_ ass until you cheated."

"We would have been there all day fighting!" he protested. "I had the means to end it quickly so I did. Technically, that's not cheating."

"Maybe," she reluctantly conceded. "But you were the first man I had fought that didn't just take it for granted that since I was a girl, I wouldn't be a worthy opponent to be wasting amazing moves on. You have amazing balance. I have never seen anyone recover from any of my kicks as quickly as you did. That's impressive."

Loz turned his gaze to the trees in front of him and smiled slightly. "You were so pretty. I liked looking at you as you fought me." His smile faded as he remembered how she looked as he looked down at her amongst the flowers. "I was going to hurt you even more until the kid hit me with that materia."

Tifa nodded. "I know. But she _did_ hit you and you _didn't_ hurt me after that. You left me there even when you easily could have killed me once you had Marlene and the materia, Loz, but for some reason, you didn't."

He squeezed his eyes shut. "How can you forgive me for what I've done?"

Tifa thought for a moment before resting her head on his shoulder. "Sephiroth is the man I told you about who killed my father. Having a man like that living in your head is something I would never wish upon anyone, even my worst enemy."

"But, in a way, I _am_ Sephiroth," he said. "How can you feel anything but hatred for me?"

"Loz, you are not Sephiroth," she asserted firmly. "You have your memories back but you're not running around being evil and blowing things up are you?"

He frowned and turned his head to the side again. "No."

"Do you _want_ to be evil and blow things up?" she asked.

"No," he said as he shook his head.

"What _do_ you want?" she asked.

"I just want to live like I have been since coming back to the living," he said. "I like my job, I like having friends, and…I like you. I like talking to you, I like being around you, and I like kissing and touching you."

Tifa smiled and closed her eyes. "I like you too…and I like kissing and touching you too."

They both turned and faced each other, neither wasting any more time as their lips met in a passionate kiss. Loz cradled her head in his hand as he pushed her down on her back before following her. He rolled them slightly so they were on their sides facing each other, their legs tangling together as they pressed their bodies closer together. He parted her lips easily as he deepened his kiss and somewhere in the back of her mind, Tifa noted that this kiss was different from the first one they had shared. The first one was so natural, but tentative because he was still so unsure. This kiss was like a hunger that needed to be fed. The more they gave each other, the more they wanted.

He pulled his lips from hers and began kissing her neck. "You are so beautiful. I want you so much that I can _taste_ it!"

Tifa smiled and moaned softly at his words. "I want you too."

"But not here," he said roughly. "Too many bad memories."

She nodded sympathetically. "Let's get out of here."

He smiled and nodded before pushing himself to his feet and taking her hand to help her to her feet. "Okay. I'm going to drop the bike off at the shop, so if you follow me, we can go to my apartment, if you want."

Tifa nodded and smiled. "It's a plan. Maybe we'll cool off on the way back."

He smirked and nodded. "Maybe."

She still held his hand as they walked towards their bikes. "I'll race you?"

He turned and looked down at her. "A race? You're on!"

They both got on the bikes and started the engines quickly before speeding down the path leading them out of the strangely glowing forest. Tifa smiled to herself as she shifted the bike into its highest gear before pulling out in front of Loz. She enjoyed the rush of air that flowed over her as she sped out of the forest into the dusty air of the Wastelands. She even laughed when Loz sped past her, even going so far as to kick his leg out and catch the ground performing a spin at full speed.

"Show off, she murmured before aiming her bike for a small incline that launched her into the air sending her back in front of Loz.

He smirked and pulled up along side her. "You live dangerously!"

She laughed and nodded. "It's the _only_ way to live, believe me."

He chuckled and nodded before pulling in front of her again. Tifa laughed and shook her head. It looked like she was in for a game of leapfrog on motorbikes.

They raced across the Wastelands, each taking a turn at being in front as they showed off their skills on their bikes. Tifa had to admit that he was as good on the back of a bike as he was repairing and improving one. She watched him effortlessly weave around the rocks and imperfections in the rough road leading back towards Edge. Her smile began to fade as she remembered playing like this with Cloud…Cloud her best friend…Cloud, the man she thought would be with her forever…Cloud the friend who had lost so much…Cloud the friend who left her behind to be his rock. She felt guilty for resenting him and finding comfort in a man who was tied to the worst pain in her life. But her heart was telling her that too much had been lost to guilt already. It was time to face the future again with an open heart and an open mind…to allow herself to move on and see where life took her.

She shook her head and focused on driving and keeping up with the man far in front of her. She determinedly accelerated and followed the trail of dust he kicked up in his wake. She wondered if Cloud had ever factored in any guilt for what he had been doing to her every time he disappeared. Did he even think of what it did to her to wake up everyday and never know if he was coming back?

"Tifa, you okay?" Loz called from her left.

She blinked and at him. He had apparently turned around when he had noticed her falling behind. He had a sincere look of concern in his eyes as he surveyed her features. They were both going significantly slower and she was surprised to see that they had almost reached Edge. She forced a smile to her lips and nodded.

"I'm fine," she lied. "I'm just lost in a memory, that's all."

He nodded. "We're almost home."

Home. The word sounded so warm coming from him. It was a place he wanted to be…and a place Cloud had always run from. She looked at Loz again and found a frown on his brows as he watched her intently.

She smiled reassuringly. "I'm okay."

He nodded, but clearly didn't believe her. He increased his speed once more and led the way back to the bike shop. He pulled around back and unlocked the garage. He drove the bike into the loading bay before turning it off and dropping the keys into a lockbox. He walked out the way he had entered and pressed a button on a remote control he pulled from his pocket. Once the door had slid down into place, he reattached the padlock and walked around front where Tifa was waiting.

She smiled at him as he got closer to her. "So, where's your apartment?"

"It's just around the corner," he said. "My bikes out front, so if you park in the spot beside it, you should be fine."

She nodded. "I'll meet you there."

He watched her pull around the corner and by the time he had rounded the corner, she was swinging her leg over her bike and waited for him by the two bikes. He approached her and looked down at her as she just watched him.

"So, do you still want to stop here first?" he asked with a slight smile.

Tifa looked up at him and all thoughts of Cloud were pushed to the back of her mind as she found herself disappearing into the desire she felt for Loz. "I'd love to come up for a moment."

He nodded. "Okay. Come on."

She followed him to a door he unlocked and they climbed a narrow flight of stairs to the second floor. At the top of the stairs there was a door. He unlocked it and opened the door for her. She walked in and was…surprised. It was an inviting space that was well kept and modestly decorated. She could see the kitchen through a hall to her right and to the left on the other side of the living room area was another hall that she assumed led to a bathroom and the bedroom. Loz shut the door and walked around to stand in front of her. He smiled and gestured to the sofa.

"You wanna have a seat?" he asked.

She reached up kissed him on the lips in answer to his question. He needed no further invitation before slamming her against a wall and returning her kiss with an equal passion. She groaned in pleasure at the small display of his dominance and after being so strong for so many people for such a long time, she was ready to surrender control to someone else for a while. He lifted his mouth from hers and gently tugged on her right earlobe with his teeth, drawing a gasp from her lips as she closed her eyes in pleasure.

"You wanna play?" his deep voice rumbled in her ear.

She turned her head slightly and looked into his eyes, slightly darkened to an almost jade color by the primal lust he felt for her. She smiled slightly, her pupils slightly dilated with her own arousal.

"The last time we played together, I ended up almost dead," she said dryly.

He smirked as he caressed her throat with one hand. "This is a different game…one that I'm _really_ good at."

His promise sent shivers of anticipation throughout her body. He pulled her away from the wall and pulled her down the long hall leading to his bedroom. They went between kissing and trying to remove each other's clothing as they hurried down the hall and into his room. Tifa immediately turned her attention back to the buttons on his white shirt while he quickly unzipped her black sweater, baring her black bra and naked midriff to his eyes. Growing impatient with the buttons on his shirt, he stopped her movements and just pulled the shirt over his head while she slipped the sweater from her arms.

He stood there looking at her for a moment. "You look even better than I imagined."

She smiled at the compliment. "And you are just amazing to look at."

He smirked, knowing his body was appealing to women. "Now I want to the rest of you."

Tifa reached behind herself and unhooked her bra before letting it drop to the ground in front of her. It was almost comical to watch his expression change from cocky and self-assured to that of a teenager seeing a pair of naked breasts for the first time.

"I thought you'd done this before," she said with a smirk, knowing that most men she ran into at some point would picture her naked. He was no different in that way. "Haven't you seen a pair of breasts before?"

"None that were the same level of perfection as yours," he murmured before crushing her against his chest and teasing her lips apart for a deep kiss. His tongue thrust against hers in a movement that made her weak in the knees. He kept their mouths joined as he pushed her towards the bed before lowering them both to the soft surface. In a flurry of activity, the rest of their clothing was shed and he was moving between her legs. She adjusted herself against his thighs as he lined himself up with her body. In one fluid movement, he thrust himself entirely into her body, forcing the air out of her lungs in a satisfied gasp. He smirked slightly as he began to set a slow, steady pace, drawing himself out before sliding back in.

"You weren't kidding," she whispered. "You're _really_ good at this game!"

His smirk widened into a smile. "You ain't seen nothing yet, I promise."

Tifa smirked as she continued to allow him to guide their pace. She could already feel the pressure building as an intense coil of pleasure began to tighten in her abdomen. She had never experienced anything like it before in her limited experience. His slow, drawn out movements were steadily driving her to point she rarely met with a partner. That's why she was startled when he suddenly pulled her up against his chest and with a twist of his hips flipped them so he was on his back and she was above him.

"I want to watch you enjoy it," he said in answer to the question on her face.

"I was enjoying it just fine where I was," she assured him.

"I know, but I want to see you reach the peak with me," he said softly as he gripped her hips in his hands.

"Oh, you want me to work for it?" she asked teasingly and he nodded with a smirk. "Well, you might regret that, Loz."

He watched her push herself up from his chest and settle on his hips. She pulled her hair to one side and looked down at him, winking before she slowly lifted her hips. It wasn't long before he was able to match her rhythm, his hips meeting her downward thrusts with his upward thrusts and soon they were both moaning as they each drew pleasure from the other's body. He leaned up slightly and pushed her forward slightly so he could attach his lips to the tip of one breast. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his gentle sucking on the first breast before moving on to the other. Tifa was the first to reach her climax, letting Loz push her over the edge into a shuddering release with his thrusts. She was still riding the wave of pleasure when he again flipped them so she was on her back, but he added another level of intensity to her release by hooking one of her legs over his shoulder and using his hips to drive himself deeper into her body and forcing another cry of pleasure from her throat as he too vocalized the power of his own release which coincided with her second, more power orgasm. Their bodies shuddered against each other as he rested some of his weight on her as he kissed her lips in a succession of quick kisses.

"Thank you," he murmured against her neck. He pushed himself away from her as he collapsed on the bed, but he kept his arm across her stomach and pulled her back against his chest.

"Loz, I should shower," she murmured as she kissed his forearm.

"Why?" he asked, his eyes closed.

"Because I'm all sweaty," she answered.

"So am I," he said.

"And I'm a complete mess," she said with a soft laugh.

He smirked against her hair as he kissed her head. "Me too. Besides, maybe I plan on getting all sweaty and messy again. What a waste of a shower."

She shrugged and snuggled into his strong arms. "You've got a point."

"We can clean up after a rest," he assured her.

After a few moments, his deep even breathing signaled he was asleep. Tifa sighed and smiled, enjoying the safety and comfort she felt in the circle of his arms. "I could _definitely_ get used to this."


	13. Turmoil  Mature

Author's Note: More sexy content! I hope it's not complete crap and any suggestions to improve it are appreciated! :D Hope everyone found it okay after the rating change and I hope everyone's still enjoying it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Tifa yawned and stretched before turning her head and smiling. She was still in Loz's arms and it felt so good. She carefully rolled over so her head was resting on his hard chest. She let her hands absently trace the muscles on his abdomen and up along his chest. She looked up when she felt his chest begin to shake.

"That tickles," he said with a smile, his eyes still closed.

"Ah, so you're ticklish," she said with smirk. "I'll remember that."

"I'm sure you will," he answered. He finally opened his eyes and looked at the clock beside the bed. "It's seven-thirty p.m. We should probably get going if you want to get back to Seventh Heaven to meet up with Cloud and Vincent."

Tifa sighed. "You're right. Time to get up and return to the real world. But first, a shower."

Loz watched Tifa sit up and stretch again. He liked the way her dark hair contrasted her pale skin as it fell like a curtain down her back. She pushed herself to the edge of the bed and got to her feet. She pulled one of the sheets from the bed to wrap it around herself before walking around the large bed towards the door. He rolled onto his side so he could continue watching her.

"There are towels in the cupboard behind the bathroom door," he said when she reached the bedroom door.

She smiled over her shoulder at him. "Thanks Loz."

He smiled and nodded. Once she was out of sight he rolled onto his back again. He smiled to himself as he remembered how much he had enjoyed playing a different game with Tifa. She was so much fun! He could fight with her and get a great workout, she could ride bikes with the best of them, and she was fun to be with during sex. His smiled became a playful smirk when he heard the water start to run. He quickly pushed himself to his feet, not bothering to cover himself up, and padded over to the bathroom. He knocked on the door, noting that the old him would have just walked in while his new sense of self demanded he follow the rules of manners and wait to be invited in.

"Loz?" she called.

"Yeah, it's me," he said through the door. "Can I come in?"  
"Sure," she answered as he opened the door.

The room was already beginning to steam up and was quite warm. He stepped closer to the tub and could see the outline of her body through the semi opaque shower curtain.

"What's up?" she asked from the other side of the curtain.

"I just wanted to know if you would like some company?" he asked with smirk.

"Huh, I thought you'd never ask," she said teasingly. "Come on in. There's plenty of room!"

He gently pulled the curtain back and stepped in. She turned and faced him, smiling as she handed him the soap.

"You can wash my back," she said as she turned away from him.

"You got it," he said as he began to lather up his hands.

Once they were soapy enough, he gently ran them over her back. She sighed and leaned into his touch. He pulled her back against his chest and let his hands travel around to the front of her body. He trailed his soapy hands over her breasts and down her flat stomach, over her hips and along the tops of her thighs before cupping her sex. He gently rubbed her with his hand before moving back up her body.

She turned around and looked up at him. "You are a tease."

He smirked as his eyes twinkled. "I'm just making sure you get cleaned up."

"Ah, well two can play _that_ game," she said as she took the soap from his hands and turned him so he was facing away from her.

She carefully lathered her hands up before rubbing them along his back and around his sides so she could trail her hands over his chest and trace them down over the chiseled muscle of his abdomen. She caressed his thighs before moving her hands to grasp his length already hardening as she lightly stroked it.

"You're _really_ good at that," he said as he looked over his shoulder at her. He turned to face her and lifted one of her legs as he pulled her closer to him. "Let's play, Tifa."

She smiled and gasped when he entered her body. "God, you feel so good."

He pressed her up against the wall of the shower for leverage as he continued his hard upwards thrusts into her. She held onto his shoulders and kept her eyes locked with his. He didn't look away from her either. He just kept watching her as they moved together. The floor of the tub was getting slippery as the soap ran off their bodies and it became more difficult for Tifa to keep her balance. Sensing her instability, Loz picked her up and wrapped both of her legs around his waist. He supported her weight with one arm wrapped around her waist while his other hand braced their combined weight against the wall.

Tifa gasped at the new and more intense sensations their new position created, her climax building even more quickly than it had already been doing. She moaned and threw her head back as the waves of pleasure crashed over her nerves and slammed into her without warning. The effect of her intense, seemingly unending orgasm was too much for Loz. The sight of her body and the physical sensations he was feeling inside her pushed him over the edge as well. They both panted as they recovered from their mutual satisfaction and Tifa even laughed softly as she let her legs slide down until they touched the floor of the tub.

Loz was puzzled by her laughter. "What's so funny?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "You seem to know me in a way no one else does. And it's just so unexpected given our history."

He nodded. "Yeah."

She stepped into the flow of the water and began cleaning herself off again. She turned to face him as she lathered her hair up with his shampoo. "You know, your vocabulary seems to go from extensive to limited really quickly."

"I wasn't much of a talker," he admitted. "Kadaj was always the mouth in the group. Yazoo and I didn't really get a lot of opportunities to speak, so I just got use to having concise answers for everything."  
She nodded as she considered his answer. "Do you ever hate him? Kadaj, I mean."

Loz frowned and watched her rinse her hair. He shrugged and shook his head. "No, not really. Why?"

"Well, he seemed really angry all the time and Marlene said that when she was with you, he was mean to you," Tifa said.

"Aren't siblings supposed to tease each other?" he asked.

Tifa smiled and shrugged. "I guess so. So, do you miss them?"

"Who? Kadaj and Yazoo?" he asked. "Now that I remember them, yeah. But it's…different now."

Tifa rinsed the shampoo from her hair and looked up at him. "What's different?"

"Before when we were apart from one another for too long, we began to feel lost," he tried to explain. "Like if I wasn't with them, I didn't feel whole. Now, even though I'm alone, I don't feel lost. I feel lonely, but not lost."  
Tifa reached up and touched his cheek. "You don't even have to feel lonely, Loz. Not anymore."

He gently touched the hand on his face and smiled. "Thanks."

She nodded. "Listen, I'm done, so I'm going to dry off and get dressed. You can finish up and I'll meet you in the living room."

"Okay," said as they switched places so he was under the water and she was able to pull to curtain back to step out.

Once he was alone, he absently rubbed the spot when the Shinra doctors had placed the tiny pump beneath his skin. Somehow he had the feeling that his relief from Sephiroth wouldn't last very long. He didn't want Sephiroth with him again. He knew Sephiroth would take Tifa away from him and break her so they could never play again. He had to be strong so he could protect her, but he was at a disadvantage. Even though he was no longer just a remnant of Sephiroth, he was still a piece of him at the core and he knew Sephiroth would find that small piece and use it against him.

He turned his face into the water and allowed it to wash away the tears that always fell too damned easily.

* * *

Tifa sat on the couch in the living room as she waited for Loz to finish in the shower. She was flipping through a motorcycle magazine and sighed. She didn't know how he had done it, but Loz had managed to carve out a place in her heart. She smiled to herself and continued to flip through the magazine. She looked up when she heard his heavy footsteps approaching from down the hall. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with a dark blue t-shirt and a black leather jacket, his silver hair still glistening from the water, yet holding his trademark impossible style.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm ready. So are we taking both bikes?"

"I was thinking we could take one bike," he said. "I kinda wanna see just what kind of power Shinra packs into their bikes."

Tifa laughed and shrugged as she handed him the keys. "Okay."

They left Loz's apartment and made their way down the stairs out into the streets. Loz went to the bike and settled on the machine as he familiarized himself with the controls. As he was doing that, Tifa noticed the glares people threw at him. She had been aware of it for a while, but now she was starting to get irritated. Who were they to judge him? They didn't even know him or the pain he went through! They didn't know what it was like to live as a remnant of Sephiroth with no will of their own! He was trying to make a new life and no one seemed to even care! One man in particular was giving him an intensely venomous stare and Tifa moved to confront him, but stopped when Loz gently grabbed her wrist. She looked at him questioningly.

"I was just…"

He just shook his head. "It's not worth it."

"But…"

"Tifa, they only see one of the men who stole their children," he said.

"Children who still have no one to care for them," she protested. "Instead of wasting all their energy glaring at you, they should be focusing on helping those children find homes!"

Loz sighed and gently pulled her even closer to him. "They don't matter."

"It ticks me off though," she protested.

He smiled sadly. "You know better than anyone that they're right to be scared of me."

She put her hands on both sides of his face and tilted his head so he was looking up at her. "They _don't_ have a reason to scared of you anymore, Loz."

He lifted a hand and touched one of her hands. "Only time will tell. Come on. We should go."

She nodded and climbed on to the back of bike. Instead of resting her hands on his hips as she had the first time she had ridden behind him, she wrapped them around his waist. Once he started the bike and pulled out into the street, she sighed and rested her head on his back. She felt him sigh contentedly before moving one of his hands to cover both of hers where they met at his waist. She felt like no matter what happened, they would all be okay. She felt…safe.

Vincent watched Cloud continuously glance up at the clock. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Cloud moved between looking at the clock and pacing again. "If you are concerned about her, why not just call her, Cloud?"

"Huh?" Cloud asked. He shook his head. "I don't want to bother her. She might not have found him yet."

"I think he will want to be found, Cloud," Vincent said.

"He seems to enjoy the solitude," Cloud pointed out.

"There's a difference between choosing solitude and having it forced upon you," Vincent said. "We both know the difference…and I don't think Loz seeks out the solitude. You have more in common with him than you want to admit, Cloud."

Cloud looked up sharply. "No, I don't."

"You told me you and Loz had made a pact to work together," Vincent said. "You even admire his work on motorcycles and you like his improvements to Fenrir. Why are you holding on to your distrust?"

"Tifa is too kind and is easily being drawn in with his wounded soul act," Cloud said as he glanced out the window. "She'll get hurt."

"His soul really is wounded, Cloud," Vincent said patiently. "It's not an act and you already know this to be true. As for Tifa…you know she can take care of herself. So what's this really all about?"  
"This is about Sephiroth taking everything from me," Cloud said as he glared over his shoulder at his friend. "He burned Nibleheim to the ground, he nearly killed Tifa, he killed Aeris, he tried to destroy our planet, he sent his remnants to destroy us, and now he's trying to take my soul from me! He's already taken Tifa and he'll kill her this time! He won't stop until he's destroyed everything."

"Sephiroth hasn't taken Tifa, Cloud," Vincent reminded him. "Tifa went to find Loz. Loz is not Sephiroth."

"He may as well be," Cloud said angrily.

They both turned when they heard a key in the lock. Tifa opened the door and walked in with Loz behind her. She could tell that Cloud and Vincent were in the middle of something when they had walked in just by looking at them. She decided to ignore the tension for the moment and turned to look up at Loz.

"Loz, do you remember Vincent?" she asked gesturing to the ex-Turk.

He nodded slightly. "You rescued brother from Kadaj."

"I'm _not_ your brother," Cloud said as he turned away.

"Sorry," Loz mumbled. "Bad habit."

"Loz, am I right in assuming you have all your memories back?" Vincent asked calmly.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Then perhaps we should talk?" Vincent suggested. He turned and looked at Tifa. "Would it be alright if Loz and I had a few moments alone?"

She smiled thinly and nodded. "Of course. Cloud and I can wait upstairs."

She smiled reassuringly at Loz before walking out the back door and up the stairs leading toward the apartment above the bar. Cloud followed her, just as eager to find some privacy, as she seemed to be. He shut the door behind them and waited for her to face him. She stubbornly stayed facing away from him, forcing him to make the first move.

"Aren't you even going to look at me?" he finally asked.

She turned and did as he asked. "What the hell goes on in your head, Cloud?"

He was surprised and raised his eyebrows. "What are you talking about?"

"You seemed fine with Loz until we walked in," she said as she folded her arms across her chest. "What changed?"

Cloud clenched his jaw before speaking tightly. "Whether or not he's returned from the Lifestream for some life-fulfilling destiny, he is still a remnant of Sephiroth."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "How many times are we going to have this conversation, Cloud? I can't keep doing this with you!"

"Well, you're going to have to keep doing this as long as you refuse to see the truth, Tifa!" Cloud snapped. "He's dangerous!"

"Yeah? And so are you, in case you forgot!" she snapped back. "Sephiroth could easily use you to kill me and what do you think would give him more satisfaction? Having his remnant kill me, which everyone would expect, or having my childhood friend do his dirty work? Did you ever consider that, Cloud Strife?"

In truth, he actually had _not_ thought of that possibility…and that worried him. "I could never do that."

Tifa quirked an eyebrow and watched him. "You couldn't, but _he_ could. What's this really all about, Cloud? What is it about Loz that's got you all twisted up inside? I thought you had accepted you would both have to work together to stop Sephiroth?"

"It's the way you touch him," Cloud said quietly. "And the way you look at him. You help the way you used to help me. He gets the Tifa I had all to myself." He looked up at her and took note of her still damp hair. "And I think he gets a Tifa I never got the chance to know at all."

"Cloud, you don't need me like he does," she said softly. "You found yourself again so you don't need me anymore. As for knowing a different me…well, you had your chance Cloud and I couldn't wait around for you forever. So I didn't."

Cloud nodded. "I missed my chance. But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Tifa pursed her lips. "No, you don't have to like it, but if you're my friend, you have to respect my choices and even if you don't agree with them, you have to support me."

"Well, then you ask yourself this, Tifa: in the end, when all is said and done, can you live with the fact that you let a part of Sephiroth touch your heart?" Cloud asked bitingly.

She narrowed her eyes. "That is one hell of a low blow, Cloud. And it says a lot about _you_, not me."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Is this really about me and Loz, or is it about you and Sephiroth?" she clarified. "Do you really think I don't have my eyes open or are you worried that I'll make the same mistake you did when you trusted Sephiroth and even looked up to him?"

Cloud worked his jaw for a few moments. "Talk about your low blows, Tifa."

"It's a fair question," she answered.

He sighed and dropped to the sofa. "Of course this is about me and Sephiroth. Even if he died and his will finally dissipated into the Lifestream, everything he did would still haunt me. I don't want to see him shatter your heart."

Tifa sat beside her friend and smiled slightly. "Loz is not Sephiroth. You would actually like him if you got to know him. Look, I don't expect you two to do any male bonding or anything, but I do want you to understand that I'm a big girl and right now, I choose to help him. I also choose to be around him. He needs us, you especially. He is used to having someone tell him what to do and to guide him. In his mind, you are the closest thing to a brother he has."

"With his memories back, he reminds me of the same brutal remnant we encountered before," Cloud said. " A guy whose rage madness wouldn't let him stop attacking until he was stopped or his target disappeared! If Marlene hadn't thrown that materia at him, he would have killed you in that church. Reno and Rude blew him up and he _still_ survived long enough to help his brother try and kill all three of us!"

Tifa nodded. "Parts of that man come through…but so do the parts he created since his return. He needs time and with how this city treats him on a regular basis, the last thing he needs is any of us adding to the grief."

Cloud nodded. "I'll try, Tifa."

She nodded and squeezed his hand. "Thank you, Cloud."  
They turned at the sound of a man clearing his throat. Vincent was in the doorway with Loz standing behind him, watching the intimate scene with interest. Tifa winked at him to set his mind at ease, but he was confused by what he was seeing.

"Did you come up with anything?" Cloud asked.

"I think Loz and I may have come up with an explanation as to why Sephiroth needs you both," Vincent said. He turned and faced Loz. "Why don't you explain it?"

Loz looked at him vacantly. "Huh?"

"Why does Sephiroth need us both?" Cloud asked stiffly.

"Oh, well, from what I remember he needed all three of us, Kadaj, Yazoo, and me, to bring him back to life," Loz said.

"Was that why Kadaj couldn't sustain Sephiroth after Cloud's attack?" Tifa asked with a frown.

Loz nodded. "Yeah. One of us wasn't strong enough for him to return permanently. He needed all of us."

"Well, doesn't that mean he'll need one more person?" Cloud asked.

"Not necessarily," Vincent said. "Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were all remnants of Sephiroth, none of them whole. Loz is, technically, a whole person now and so are you, Cloud."

"Will he absorb us like he did with Kadaj?" Cloud asked quietly.

Vincent shrugged. "It's hard to say for sure, but again, the fact that you are both whole beings suggests you will remain in corporeal form. However, I can't say for certain that either of you would be of any use. The amount of energy Sephiroth would use from each of you may leave you both weak or even in a coma."

"How do we stop him?" Tifa asked.

Vincent looked at her and shook his head. "I don't know if we _can_ stop him. At this point, our only hope is that the whole process weakens Sephiroth as well. Then we may be able to contain him."

Loz shook his head. "He won't be weak at all." They all looked at Loz and he frowned. "What? It's true. He's been waiting for a long time and he's got a major hard-on for killing brother in case no one's noticed. I think he'll be ready to fight as soon as he appears."

Vincent considered his crudely put observation. "It's possible he's right. Sephiroth has been beaten by you twice now, Cloud. He is becoming obsessed with destroying you."

"We'll just have to destroy him first," Tifa said.

"How are we going to do that?" Loz asked. "Brother and I can barely stop him from destroying us from the inside out! How are you, Vincent, and two possibly comatose guys going to destroy him?"

She got to her feet and began pacing. "I don't know. Maybe if we got the others…"

"No," Cloud said as he got to his feet.

"No? But, Cloud…" Tifa began, but Cloud shook his head.

"This is my fight, Tifa," he said as he squeezed her upper arm gently. He turned and glanced at Loz. "And it's his fight too. No one can help us Tifa, because _we_ have to get out from under Sephiroth's thumb for good."

Vincent looked around at them and sighed. "I think we've done everything we can for tonight. No one is going to vanquish anyone if you're all asleep on your feet. Could we all impose on you for the night, Tifa?"

She smiled and nodded. "Sure. We have enough beds." In her head, she was nervous about Loz's sleeping arrangements. It would be awkward to have him sleep with her like she wanted given Cloud's feelings about her relationship with the remnant, but she didn't want to confuse him by sending him away.

"You can take my bed, Vincent," Cloud said suddenly. "Loz and I can take the kids' room."

"Is that a good idea?" Loz asked with a frown.

"We have to look out for each other," Cloud said with an indifferent shrug. "If you start to change, I'll be there to stop you."

Loz narrowed his eyes. "And vice versa."

Cloud smirked, but nodded. "That's the idea."

"I'll go put the sheets on the kids' beds," Tifa said as glared at Cloud's back.

"I need some fresh air," Loz grumbled before leaving the room.

Cloud turned to Vincent and rolled his eyes. "Don't say a thing."

"I would even think about it," Vincent said emotionlessly.

* * *

Loz sat on top of an old picnic table in the middle of a slab of concrete that served as a patio area behind Seventh Heaven. It was a rare night when stars periodically appeared behind the persistently cloudy skyline. He wanted everything to be over. He didn't want the threat of Sephiroth's return hanging over him any more, he didn't want to deal with brother…Cloud…whatever, and his mood swings, and he didn't want to face his mortality again so soon. All he wanted to do was live. He wanted to live a normal life, fixing bikes, making friends, and being with Tifa. He wanted to come to her bar at the end of the night, have a drink with Reno while he hit on anything with differing body parts from himself before falling down drunk or having Rude cut him off for his own good. Then, at the end of the night, he could fall asleep with Tifa in his arms, wake up the next day, eat breakfast with the kids and start the cycle all over again.

But that wouldn't happen if Sephiroth had his way! And at a time when he expected tears to fall, Loz raised a hand to his face and it was dry with only an angry frown there. He was surprised that his tears had given way to his anger. It always made him laugh to think of everyone thinking he was the most angry, twisted remnant of the three, but in actuality, he was the most childlike. Kadaj call him child_ish_, but Yazoo always assured him he was child_like_. The term childish always implied immaturity, but Loz wasn't immature. He would have rather just focused on having fun and enjoy playing around instead of being so serious all the time. Kadaj told him it was his crying that made him childish.

He was pulled from his musings by the sound of soft footsteps behind him. He turned and glanced over his shoulder.

"Tifa?"

She smiled and sat beside him on the picnic tabletop. "The bed is all ready for you." She noticed his frown. "What's got you frowning like that?"

He shrugged and looked away. "I'm just thinking."

"About what?" she asked.

"About how I just want to give this life a go," he said. "I'm not ready for Sephiroth to take it away from me and the idea of him trying to do that pisses me off."

She smiled slightly at the venom with which he spoke. She was not used to him being so angry. "Wow. Well, Sephiroth won't know what hit him should he dare try to stop you from living, huh?"

Loz snorted. "I doubt he thinks I'm any kind of threat to him."

"Than he's a fool," Tifa said as she raised her eyes to the sky. "I can see the stars tonight."

He looked up too and nodded. "Yeah. They're pretty."

She smiled and nodded before turning her gaze to him. He felt her looking at him and turned his face so he could return the glance. They stared at one another for a moment before Tifa cleared her throat and blushed slightly.

"The beds are all made up for you and Cloud," she said. "Whenever you're ready, come on inside. Just lock the door behind you."

Loz reached out and grasped her hand as she hopped down from the table and turned to go. She turned and looked at him questioningly.

"I don't want Sephiroth to break you," he whispered.

She smiled sadly. "Neither do I. And you know what? I don't want him to break you either, Loz."

One corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. "Would you miss me?"

She nodded, her smile brightening a little. "I would miss you a lot, Loz."

He drew her closer to him and pulled her into a gentle embrace. He caressed her cheek and gently lifted her chin with the tips of his fingers so he could kiss her, gently at first, but with a little more passion than either of them intended. In the end, they both withdrew reluctantly.

"I'll come to bed now," he said, his voice husky with repressed passion. "Maybe I'll have some good dreams."

Tifa laughed softly and nodded. "I know I will!"

* * *

Cloud watched Tifa smile up at Loz after their kiss. She held his hand as he pushed himself off the table and she continued to do so as they walked back into the building, the door opening and closing confirming they were coming in for the night. Cloud didn't have to turn around to know he wasn't alone.

"Remember our talk of letting go something being one of the hardest things we have to do in life?" Cloud asked quietly.

"Yes," Vincent answered from the doorway.

"It's not hard," Cloud said. "It's damned near impossible."


	14. Tifa's Nightmare

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Loz walked Tifa to her bedroom and smiled down at her when she turned to face him. He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. His hands rested on her hips and hers lay upon his chest. He lifted his head and moved one hand from her hip to gently touch her face.

"I wish I could stay with you tonight," he said quietly. "But brother wouldn't like it."

Tifa was surprised he had picked up on Cloud's disapproval. "It's probably best you watch over each other."

He nodded. "I guess. Goodnight, Tifa."

She smiled. "Goodnight, Loz."

He waited for her to go into her room and close the door before turning walking back towards the room the children normally occupied. He opened the door, not sure if brother would be waiting to punch him again, but found Cloud staring out the window. He closed the door behind himself and stepped further into the room.

"I don't like what you're doing," Cloud said without turning.

Loz made a face and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I never would have guessed."

"But we have to work together," Cloud continued, choosing to ignore the sarcasm.

"Didn't we already have this conversation back at Healen?" Loz asked with a smirk. "I thought you were ready to be a friend, but now we're back to this. Is it because of my past or is it because of my present?"

Cloud turned his head to the side, but not enough to look at Loz. "It's because of your past that I dislike your present."

Loz sneered at Cloud. "_She_ is the problem isn't she? You are pissed that she came looking for me…and stayed away with me, aren't you? Are you jealous?"

Cloud rounded on Loz and glared at him through narrowed eyes. "You don't deserve Tifa!"

"And you do?" Loz asked with smirk. "She was alone when I found her in that church. She was looking for you. And why was that? It was because you had left her all alone. You left her to protect herself and the children alone. She's a good fighter, believe me, but guys like me and my brothers would have lied, cheated, and stolen to find mother. And I did cheat. I used my weapon to knock her out cold and I would have gone further. Where were you when I was attacking her? Out moping around right? And you left a little girl in charge of saving her from me. If I were you, I'd hate myself right now."

"And you think Sephiroth won't always be a part of you?" Cloud asked pointedly. "That little speech you just gave proves he'll always be a part of you, Loz."

Loz narrowed his eyes. "Tifa knows what I am and _still_ cares about me. Do you think I care what _you_ think of me, brother? I've got a whole damn town that hates me! You're just one of the thousands I deal with every day! But if Tifa's the only one who doesn't hate me, then that's enough for me. Too bad she was never enough for you."

"Who said she wasn't enough?" Cloud demanded.

Loz smirked again. "If she had been enough, she'd be with you now and we wouldn't be having this discussion."

Cloud turned away and faced the window again. "Go to sleep. We won't solve anything tonight."

Loz shrugged and picked up the clothes Tifa had left on the bed for him. He disappeared into the small adjoining bathroom and quickly changed, begrudgingly acknowledging the fact that Cloud was right. He was still tired after his nap with Tifa. He smiled to himself as he remembered falling asleep with her in his arms. He folded his own clothes and carried them back into the room. Cloud was now lying on his back on one of the beds, the light between the beds still on. Loz climbed into the bed and settled on his back. After a few minutes of silence, he turned his head and glanced at Cloud.

"Hey," he called quietly.

Cloud rolled his eyes and looked at Loz. "What?"

"All that stuff I did before?" he said awkwardly.

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's all in the past," he said with a shrug. "I wouldn't hurt Tifa…not now. And I like the kids too. I wouldn't hurt them either. I just wanted to tell you that."

Cloud nodded. "Okay. Loz?"

"Yeah?"

Cloud sighed. "Thanks for telling me that."

Loz smiled slightly. "Sure."

* * *

Tifa moaned as Loz kissed her neck. She smiled and opened her eyes. "You're supposed to be in your bed."

"I didn't want to stay there," he murmured as he pulled her right earlobe between his teeth. "And you didn't want me to stay there either."

She laughed and shook her head. "You're right, I didn't."

He laughed as well, though the icy baritone laughter wasn't his. "I'm surprised at you Tifa. Caring for my remnant is one thing, but sleeping with him is quite another."

She gasped and sat up, staring at Loz. "Sephiroth?"

Loz smiled Sephiroth's cold laconic smile and sat up as well, his eyes glowing slightly as they burned with the mako energy that coursed through Sephiroth. "Didn't think I could push past Shinra's pathetic Jenova suppressants, did you? Well, that's too bad. If you had, maybe one of you would have figured out that I don't need sleep."

Tifa pushed herself away from Loz and backed away towards the door. She stopped when she ran into a wall of flesh and turned, smiling in relief when she saw Cloud standing behind her.

"Cloud! Am I glad to see…" she stopped when she saw his eyes glowing with the same mako energy as Loz's eyes.

He smirked as well as he stared down at her. "You know what they say," Cloud said with Sephiroth's voice. "Two heads are better than one."

"No!" she whimpered as she backed away from Cloud. She again hit a wall of flesh.

Loz grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back and to the side, exposing her pale neck before raising his other hand and caressing the sensitive flesh there. He gently kissed her cheek before laughing softly.

"I like being in two places at once," Sephiroth said as he turned her head so she could see Cloud approaching. He held his hand out and as he got closer, Tifa could see Sephiroth's Masamune appear in his hand.

"I can watch you die," Sephiroth as Cloud said as he smirked and pressed the blade against her neck.

"And I can _feel_ you die at the same time," Sephiroth as Loz said as he squeezed her to emphasize his point.

"I am killing two birds with one stone this way," Sephiroth as Cloud said reasonably. "I am taking away what each of these puppets cherish most at the same time. So I really should thank you for making this so easy for me, Tifa."

"No, Sephiroth," Tifa croaked. She pressed herself against Loz to escape the tip of the seven foot blade, but it did no good, so she did the one thing that every parent on the planet hated…she went limp in Loz's grasp and slipped free of him.

Sephiroth as both Cloud and Loz clicked his tongue. "You are just making this harder on yourself, Tifa."

She decided if she was going to die in that room, she was going to go out fighting, so she dropped into a fighting stance. Loz looked at Cloud and both laughed maliciously.

"I think my remnant can take care of you easily, Tifa," Sephiroth as Loz said as he held his left hand up. She squeezed her eyes shut when she saw his Dual Hound appear. "Surely you hadn't forgotten about his favorite toy, had you?"

"Damn," she whispered. She refused to be intimidated by that damned thing again and held her stance stubbornly.

"Then I suppose it's safe to assume you forgot about this," he said before his image blurred before suddenly appearing right in front of her, holding her stomach before releasing the charge of his weapon into her, knocking her into a corner across the room half unconscious. He sauntered towards her knelt in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and squeezing it. "Maybe I should just strangle you?"

"Or, I could slit your throat while I hold you?" Sephiroth as Cloud mused as he moved to stand in front of her, once again pressing his long, thin blade into her throat.

Loz and Cloud smirked and looked at each other, Sephiroth speaking at the same time as each of them. "Or I could do both."

Tifa sat straight up in bed and screamed a blood-curdling scream that brought all three men staying in her home storming into her room. Loz was the first one there and he ran over to sit on the bed beside her.

"Tifa? Are you okay?" he asked as he reached out to touch her.

She cried and pushed his hand away as she jumped from the bed and backed away from him towards the door. "S-stay away f-from me!" she stammered.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked as she backed into him in the doorway. He glared at Loz. "What did you do?"

Loz glared back at him. "I didn't do anything!"

Cloud moved to touch her, but Tifa batted his hand away from her as well. "You stay away from me too! I don't want either of you near me!"

"What happened?" Vincent asked as he entered her room.

Tifa dodged both Loz and Cloud as she ran and hid behind Vincent. "I-I don't know. I just…I can't be near them right now."

Cloud was surprised. "But…"

"Cloud, I think it's best that I talk to Tifa alone," Vincent said is expressionless voice. "You and Loz should wait here while we talk in your room Cloud."

Cloud nodded and watched Tifa fearfully look at both him and Loz before allowing Vincent to guide her from the room. Loz watched her leave before looking at Cloud.

"Any guesses about what happened?" he asked.

Cloud allowed himself to drop to the edge of the bed beside Loz before looking at him. "A nightmare? If it was a nightmare, then it had to be about Sephiroth."

"Do you think he's going after her too?" Loz asked.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I don't think he can. But Tifa has her own history with Sephiroth."

Loz nodded. "I know. She told me about the reactor and how he nearly killed her."

Cloud nodded. "That would be enough to cause anyone a lifetime of nightmares."

"Yeah," Loz said absently. "Will she be okay?"

Cloud looked at Loz and was surprised to find tears glistening in his eyes. He frowned as he turned to face him. "Are those…are you…?"

Loz looked at him and smirked as he wiped the excess moisture from his eyes. He snorted and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah. Sephiroth's big scary hulk of a remnant cries."

Cloud was surprised that he could even cry. "Well…I guess if you're a part of Sephiroth and you can cry that means Sephiroth is still human…sort of, I guess."

"Well, he and I don't really talk about it," he said. "It's the elephant in the room for us."

Cloud chuckled without humor. "I suppose it would be."

Loz nodded. "How long are we going to have to wait before the other guy comes back and tells us about Tifa and what happened?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'm not sure."

* * *

Vincent listened intently as Tifa recounted her story to him. His face gave nothing away as to what he was thinking as she told him exactly what had happened.

"It was so frightening to see them both, talking to me and each other with Sephiroth's voice," she said as she stared at her hands. "It was unreal to be looking at two familiar faces, both of whom I care about, talking about how to kill me in that monster's voice! Do you think it was him, Vincent?"

He shook his head slightly. "Unless you have some Jenova cells in you that you haven't told us about, I don't see how he could purposely wander into your mind. And from what Cloud told me about Shinra's suppressants, Sephiroth, in essence, should be sleeping, inactive and not aware of his surroundings."

"So, it was just a dream?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe not," Vincent answered. "Maybe it was a message from Aeris?"

"Why would she send me such a terrifying nightmare?" Tifa asked in horror. "She doesn't have the cruelty in her to do such a thing!"

"She may have not meant it as a nightmare to strike terror into you," Vincent corrected her. "But maybe it's a vision or prophecy as to what is to come. Maybe she's trying to tell us that first Sephiroth will infect Cloud or Loz or possibly even both of them at the same time and try to destroy them from the inside out."

"But why would he do that?" Tifa asked.

"Maybe he doubts Cloud and Loz will end up comatose after he is reborn from their Jenova cells," Vincent theorized. "If he can destroy their hearts before leaving, maybe he's hoping they will lose the will to fight back and their souls will whither, leaving nothing standing in his way anymore."

"That's terrible," Tifa said as she closed her eyes. "But I can't leave them Vincent. They need me and I can't let a nightmare stop me from helping them."

"I knew you were going to feel that way," Vincent said dryly. "Cloud isn't the only stubborn one in our small group, Tifa."

She smiled at his rare use of humor. "I learned from the best."

"I think you have two very worried men waiting for you," Vincent said. "If you need me, I'm here."

She nodded and got to her feet. "Thanks, Vincent."

Tifa left Cloud's room and walked quietly back towards her room, but stopped when she peered around the corner. She smiled as she took in the scene inside her bedroom.

Loz was stretched out on her bed. His back was resting against the headboard and he had one leg bent towards his chest and the other was stretched out. He was impatiently biting his nails as he looked around her room, memorizing every nook, cranny, and inch of it. He had finished counting the wooden slats that formed the floor so he had to do something to occupy his mind.

Cloud was sitting on the floor with his back against the side of the bed. He legs were both stretched out and crossed at the ankle. He turned and looked up at Loz. "I still say your wrong."

Loz sighed and rolled his eyes as he looked down at Cloud. "And I'm telling you, you're miscounting."

"I'm still coming up short by five boards," Cloud said.

"Did you count the ones in the closet?" Loz asked impatiently.

"Of course," Cloud said equally as impatient.

"And the ones under the dresser?" Loz asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah."

"I bet you missed the slightly smaller ones by the window," Tifa said quietly as she stepped into the room. "You always forget those ones."

Cloud and Loz both looked and scrambled to their feet, both of them on either side of her, both asking overlapping questions at the same time.

"Are you okay?"

"Was it Sephiroth?"

"Is he trying to take over your mind too?"

"You're not hurt are you?"

"Did he tell you what he's planning?"

"Is he going to use you against us?"

Tifa touched each man on one arm and their questions seemed to die in their throats as they waited for her to speak. "I had a nightmare, guys. I dreamt that Sephiroth had taken over both of you and was trying to decide which one of you he was going to use when he killed me."

Cloud gently rubbed her back comfortingly. "That's awful, Tifa."

"What did Vincent make of that?" Loz asked as he absently stroked the back of her hand, which he held near his chest.

"It's probably just an old fashioned nightmare, to be honest," Tifa assured them. "But, he thinks it may be a message sent by Aeris."

"Aeris wouldn't scare you, Tifa," Cloud said with a frown.

"I know that," Tifa said. "But maybe she was sending me a vision of his intentions…something like a prophecy so we'll know what to expect when the time comes."

"I don't get it," Loz said as he shook his head. "Why would Sephiroth waste any time going after you? Cloud's the one in his way. No offence, but does he really see you as a threat?"

Tifa smirked. "No offence taken. Sephiroth doesn't see me as a threat because he was able to strike down my attempt to make him pay for my father's death seconds after it had started. In my dream…vision…whatever, he was going to use you both to kill me at the same time."

"He was able to be both of us at the same time?" Cloud asked as he raised his eyebrows. "That doesn't sound good."

"Vincent thinks that if it was a vision of what's to come, Sephiroth may use my death at both of your hands to ensure you both withdraw into yourselves so you won't be around to stop him," Tifa said.

"Are you okay though?" Loz asked with a frown.

She nodded and smiled. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry I scared you both."

Cloud smiled slightly. "It's okay, Tifa. We're just glad you're okay."

"I'm exhausted, so I'm going to try and get some sleep," Tifa said with a yawn. "You two should do the same."

Cloud nodded and hugged her. "Okay. But let us know if you need anything."

"I will," she promised. Once Cloud had released her, she turned and drew Loz into her arms. "I'll be fine, I promise Loz. He can't hurt me."

Loz nodded and brushed his lips against her temple. "Okay."

She smiled as she watched both men walk out of her room and shut the door behind them, before returning to her bed with a sigh, doubting very much that she would be able to get any sleep at all.

* * *

Cloud stood beside Loz as they both looked out the window. He looked at the remnant out of the corner of his eyes.

"Neither of us may be able to save Tifa," Cloud observed.

"I'm a much better bad guy anyway," Loz said dryly. "The hero thing is more you."

"Some hero," Cloud said as he rolled his eyes. "You were right when you said I was moping when you found Tifa in the church."

Loz nodded. "And you were right when you said Sephiroth would always be a part of me."

Cloud nodded. "So, do you think a remnant and a former SOLDIER puppet can defeat the worst monster Shinra ever created?"

Loz smirked. "We can try. Don't know about you, but I ain't got anything better to do."

Cloud smirked and looked at Loz. "Nope, my schedule is free and clear." Cloud was silent for a minute or two. "You know, Tifa was right."

"About what?" Loz asked when he turned to look at Cloud.

"I think I could learn to like you," Cloud said before returning to his bed.

Loz chuckled softly before following Cloud's example and returning to bed, though sleep was a long time coming. His mind was active as he planned out a strategy. He was going to protect Tifa, no matter what and to do that he needed a little help from a friend.

* * *

Author's Note: Sephiroth makes another appearance! Now, I know I said I was going to try keeping more in character, but I was a little loosey-goosey with him since it really is a surreal dream kind of situation. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed it! :D


	15. Loz's Gift

Author's Note: It's a short chapter, but I have the feeling the next one may be long. Enjoy! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 15**

At first, the sound of his phone ringing didn't even register in his mind, but as the phone continued to cheerily chirp alerting him to a call, Reno could no longer ignore it. He reached over the side of his bed in Wutai and felt blindly for his pants.

"I'm coming," he mumbled as he grabbed the offending device and looked at the display. He smirked and flipped the phone open. "What's up Sideburns? Yep, I remember what you asked me to do. Are you sure you want them? But why would Tifa need your…? Forget it, I don't need to know any more than I already do, man. They're hidden right where you asked me to put them. No problem, yo." Reno closed his phone and moaned. "Guess it won't be long now until that damn nightmare of a creation returns."

* * *

Tifa frowned when they stopped in front of the church. She hopped off the back of the bike while Loz snapped the kickstand of bike down to the ground. He smiled at Tifa's frown once he was off the bike and standing in front of her.

"What are we doing back here?" she asked.

"I want to give you something," he said as he took her hand in his and led her into the church.

"What could you possibly want to give me that's in this church?" Tifa asked.

He smirked and opened the door for her. "A fair fight?"

She rolled her eyes. "I swear, if you just brought me here to fight you…"

He stepped into the church behind her. "I was just kidding."

"Then why are we here?" she asked again.

"I already told you," he said as he gestured for her to sit one of the few remaining undamaged pews. "I wanna give you something."

Tifa watched with interest as he walked over to a pillar across from a section of wall where he had tried to hit her during their first encounter. Looking at the damage left by his strike, she was surprised she survived at all. She turned her attention back to what he was doing and raised an eyebrow as he pulled several bricks from the pillar. He dropped them to the ground before carefully extracting a rather long black box. He looked at it and sighed with his eyes closed before turning and returning to the pew where Tifa patiently waited for him.

"I didn't know why at the time, but these gave me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach," Loz explained as he set the box on his lap. He looked at Tifa nervously before squeezing her hand reassuringly. "Please, don't be scared, okay?"

She was starting to get nervous, but forced a smile to her face and nodded. "Okay."

He sighed, able to see past her smile. He slowly lifted the lid, revealing a black cloth. He pulled it off quickly as if removing a band-aid. He quickly lifted his eyes to her face to watch her expression. She was surprised to say the least. She looked at the contents and then looked up at him again.

"Loz, where did you get these?" she finally asked.

"I had them when Reno and Rude found me," he answered as he gently ran his fingertips along the smooth top of the Dual Hound. "I don't know how they reappeared. Brother destroyed this during our battle in the tunnel before those Turks tried to destroy us. And Yazoo shot brother with my gun because his was destroyed in the tunnel too."

"How did they get here?" Tifa asked.

"Reno took them at first because I told him I didn't want them," Loz explained. "But once I got my memories back, I asked him to hide them here, just in case I needed them."

"And Shinra didn't confiscate them?" Tifa asked in surprise.

Loz smirked. "Reno was of the opinion that what Shinra doesn't know won't hurt him, so he kept them for me."

"How did he get Rude to agree to that?" Tifa asked.

"Rude said he didn't feel like doing all the paperwork," Loz said with a smirk. He looked down at the box and shifted the Dual Hound so he could lift out his Velvet Nightmare. He was reminded of Yazoo when he looked at it. He looked at Tifa when she squeezed his hand and shrugged when he saw the concern in her eyes. "Yazoo loved his gun. I think the only time I ever saw him angry was after brother cut in half in the tunnel. I miss Yazoo."

Tifa smiled sadly and rubbed his back. "I'm sorry, Loz."

He shrugged, again noticing he was able to hold back his tears despite his sadness.

_No tears for me Loz? I'm hurt._

Loz frowned and looked around. It wasn't Sephiroth talking to him. Suddenly the world around him faded and he was surrounded by nothing but a bright white light.

_I knew he'd grow out of it eventually,_ Kadaj said with smile in his voice.

_I kind of miss his crying,_ Yazoo said serenely. _It was a truly human expression of sadness and that gave me hope that maybe we weren't as bad as everyone thought._

Kadaj laughed. _But we _were_ as bad as everyone thought._

_ That's beside the point,_ Yazoo said.

"What's going on here?" Loz asked as he squinted, trying to see his brothers. "You're both dead."

He jumped slightly when he felt each brother rest one hand on each of his shoulders. He looked over each shoulder but saw only the light. It was as though the hands were coming out of the light. His shoulders sagged under the weight of Sephiroth's plans for him, the pressure of Cloud's disapproval of him, and the loneliness he felt without his brothers.

"I miss you both," he said softly.

_We're with you always though,_ Kadaj said.

_You're never alone, Loz,_ Yazoo assured him.

The light faded around Loz and he was suddenly back in the church. He looked over at Tifa and she looked worried.

"Loz, are you okay?" she asked. "You seemed to zone out there for a minute."

He smiled slightly and shrugged. "I just…it's just the gun bringing back memories." He put the box beside him and turned to face Tifa. He lifted the heavy gun and held it out towards her. "I want you to take it, Tifa."

She frowned and slowly reached out, lightly trailing her fingertips along the cold length of the weapon. "Loz, won't you need this?"

He shook his head and smiled. "Nah, I've got my Dual Hound."

Her eyebrows drew together as she reluctantly took the gun from him and looked at him. "Why do you want me to have this?"

His smiled faded as he turned away from her. "If…your dream comes true…I can't speak for Cloud, but if Sephiroth takes over my body again and I can't stop him, I want you to kill me, okay? If you can only stop him from coming back by killing me, just do it."

"Loz, I can't kill you," Tifa said anxiously as she set the gun on the pew beside her. "There has to be another way. You were sent back for a reason and I can't believe it's just to die again!"

Loz shook his head before looking at Tifa again. "Maybe I'm here to protect you and the only way I can do that is by dying."

Tifa was not one for tears or anything like that, but hearing him talking about his possible impending death drew tears to her eyes and she was having a hard time keeping them at bay.

"I can't believe you would be returned just for that!" Tifa said, her voice cracking slightly. "I couldn't kill you, Loz. Not now, after everything we've been through."

"When the time comes, I'll be Sephiroth," he said. "Just focus on that. Then you can finally avenge your father."

Tifa shook her head. "Even if it really is Sephiroth, it's your face I'd be seeing. It would be your body left behind. It would be you I'd have to say goodbye to and I don't want to say goodbye to you."

"If it's a choice between you and me, Tifa, you need to survive more than I do," Loz reasoned. "Denzel and Marlene need you."

The mention of the children made Tifa stiffen slightly. He was right. She had to survive for the children. She had willingly and happily accepted responsibility for both of them and that meant they needed her to survive. They had both already lost so much…and so had she. She steeled her resolve and looked up at Loz again.

"If I have to, I can do what you ask," she said as a solitary tear fell down her cheek. "But I'll only consider it if I have no other choice."

He nodded. "I know you can do this, Tifa. You're the bravest person I know."

"Well, from where I'm standing, if you want to see a brave person, you just need to look in a mirror," Tifa assured him as she wiped the tear from her face.

"I'm not brave," he said as he shook his head.

"Not brave?" she asked incredulously. "You are putting the welfare of the kids and myself above your life. That's very brave and incredibly selfless."

He shrugged. "It's kind of a win-win situation for me, though. If I die, I get to see my brothers again. If I live, I get to be with you…I hope anyway."

Tifa smiled through the fresh tears. "That's one way to look at it."

"It's the only way I can look at it," he said as he took her hand in his. "I should show you how to shoot with this thing. It's pretty heavy…unless you've fired a gun before."

"I've done so when necessary," she said quietly. "But a little practice may be in order."

Loz got to his feet and picked up the box holding his Dual Hound before offering her his free hand. She reached up and took it as she gripped the heavy gun in her other hand. He smiled reassuringly at her, trying to set her heart as ease at least for now anyway.

"We can go to the Wastelands," he said as he led her out of the church again and to the waiting motorcycle. He secured the box with his Dual Hound in a storage box attached to the Shinra motorcycle. When he took the gun from her hand, he could see her overwhelming sadness. He sighed and secured the gun next to his other weapon before turning to her and taking her hands in his. "Tifa, I didn't mean to make you sad. I just wanted to make sure you would be safe if Sephiroth really tries to use me and Cloud to kill you."

"I hate him!" Tifa rasped angrily as she threw herself into his arms. "I hate that he can destroy my life so easily! I hate that he's taken so much from me already and still wants more!"

Loz held on to her and kissed the top of her head. "When he had control of me at Healen, I could see everything. I saw him turn on you, I felt him choke you, and I was there with him when he threatened to give you a matching scar. If I have to watch him kill you…I don't know what will happen."

Tifa knew what he was saying made sense and the fact that he was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for her and the kids strengthened her resolve to do what he asked and not burden him with the pain losing him would cause her. She took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"I think it's time I learned how to use your gun," she said firmly.

He smiled in relief and nodded. "You'll like it, I promise."

* * *

Tifa lifted the gun just how he had shown her and pulled the trigger, aiming at the targets they had set up. As she fired, she pictured each shot hitting Sephiroth and each shot representing someone or something he had taken away from her. Loz watched her with pride, knowing that in the end, if it was necessary, she could send him to his final resting place with one well-placed shot and he would feel no pain.


	16. Sephiroth's Puppets

Author's Note: Okay, I lied…this chapter wasn't any longer than last one. My bad! I hope everyone is still enjoying it! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Cloud paced the living room above Seventh Heaven. His head had been aching for a few hours, but it was slowly building from a dull ache to a blinding pain. Vincent watched his friend and knew it wouldn't be long now. Sephiroth was strong and his desire to return and punish Cloud was a hunger that he constantly needed to feed. Cloud grasped his head and looked at Vincent.

"This is bad," he winced.

Vincent nodded. "It seems that Sephiroth can't wait to return again."

"Why? What does he want?" Cloud asked impatiently. "I don't understand why his madness continues to rule him?"

"Think of his childhood," Vincent said. "Think of everything he went through at the hands of Shinra and Professor Hojo."

"You're not excusing him, are you?" Cloud asked with a frown.

"Not in the least," Vincent said. "Every man is responsible for his own actions. Sephiroth sees himself as a monster and uses that to justify what he does. I know his pain and have lived with it myself, yet I don't let it change me. Sephiroth was not a normal child. His childhood was an abomination, so in a way I understand his anger for Shinra. But his desire to take up Jenova's mantle and bring Meteor down upon this planet and destroy it is something I will never understand."

Cloud groaned and grabbed his head, his deep blue eyes fading to a pale green with pupils that narrowed into slits. "You don't know a damned thing about me!" Cloud growled in Sephiroth's voice.

"I know more about you then you like to think, Sephiroth," Vincent said. "I knew your mother and she would be very disappointed to see you as you are."

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. "My true mother is Jenova and I know for a fact that she would want me to continue her legacy."

"Tell yourself what you want, Sephiroth," Vincent said with a shrug. "You're only lying to yourself. Hojo ruined your life before it had truly begun and by continuing down this path, you are only succeeding in giving him what he wanted all along."

"You're wrong," Sephiroth growled.

Vincent shrugged. "If you say so."

Cloud's phone began to ring and both men looked at it before returning their gazes to each other. Sephiroth smirked slightly as he picked up the phone.

"Now, this is either Shinra calling to order Cloud to return to Healen for quarantine, or it's Tifa," he said as he allowed the phone to continue ringing. "Though if she's with my remnant, I doubt there is any time for many things other than each other's bodies."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you Sephiroth," Vincent said calmly.

He narrowed his eyes and glared at Vincent. "I'm not jealous of my remnant!"

Vincent shrugged again. "If you say so."

Sephiroth glared at Vincent before he tossed the phone to him. "You talk to them."

Vincent opened the phone and lifted it to his ear. "Yes?"

"Vincent? It's Tseng. We just got an alert that Cloud's suppressant pump is failing."

"That's because it has," Vincent said simply, maintaining his eye contact with Sephiroth. "In fact, I'm having a conversation with Sephiroth right now."

"What?" Tseng asked, his voice holding an uncharacteristic note of unease. "You must bring Cloud and the remnant back to Healen immediately for quarantine."

"I can't do that," Vincent said.

"What do you mean you can't?" Tseng asked impatiently.

"I mean, it's not a good idea," he said before snapping the phone shut.

"Aren't we a disobedient Turk?" Sephiroth taunted.

"It's been a while since I was a Turk," Vincent said. "And I don't answer to Shinra anymore."

"Me neither," Sephiroth said with a smirk.

"I think it's time to release Cloud," Vincent said.

"I'm not sure about that," Sephiroth said.

"You're wasting your energy," Vincent pointed out. "These visits you insist on making through Cloud and Loz are just delaying your rebirth."

"And who says I want to be reborn?" Sephiroth asked.

"You told Cloud that was your plan," Vincent said, interested in what Sephiroth was playing at.

"I'm just one man," Sephiroth said before smirking. "As it is right now, I have two bodies, one of which can get closer to my enemies than I ever could. That idiot Rufus would never think Cloud was capable of destroying him until I drew my blade across his throat! Your friends would suffer the same fate as would those pathetic Turks!"  
"Tifa and I could warn everyone easily," Vincent countered.

"My remnant can keep her busy," Sephiroth said as he began walking slowly towards Vincent. "And as for you, I could kill you right now."

"Thanks to Professor Hojo and your mother, I'm half dead already," Vincent reminded him. "There is nothing you can do to kill me, Sephiroth."

He smirked. "Another time then. I'm getting bored with Cloud anyway."

In an instant, Cloud groaned and hit the floor grabbing his head. Vincent knelt down on one knee and touched Cloud's shoulder, causing Cloud to raise his eyes to Vincent's.

"What just happened?" Cloud asked.

"I just had a revealing conversation with Sephiroth," Vincent said. "But we don't have time for this. Shinra will be sending their people to pick you up. They called when Sephiroth broke through their Jenova suppressants and wanted me to bring you and Loz back to Healen."

"They'll kill us to stop Sephiroth," Cloud said.

"That's why I told them I wouldn't bring you to them," Vincent said. "It's time to go."

"We have to find Tifa," Cloud said anxiously. "If Sephiroth could take over my body, then he could take over Loz. Tifa's a good fighter but…"

"Sephiroth is insane," Vincent finished for him. "My thoughts exactly. We can call her once we're far away from here."

* * *

Loz stepped closer to the water and crouched down beside it, staring at his reflection. He smiled when Tifa's reflection appeared over his shoulder. She gently touched his shoulder and smiled back at him.

"You really like it here, don't you?" she asked as she looked around them. The Forgotten City was eerie, but the trees were beautiful.

He nodded. "Yeah. But you don't. How come?"

Tifa sighed. "Sephiroth killed one of my friends and she came from an ancient people who used to live here. After she had died, Cloud brought her back here."

Loz looked at her. "I'm sorry I made you come here again."

Tifa looked up at him and smiled. "It's okay."

"We don't have a lot of time left and I want you to be happy," Loz said.

"We don't have a lot of time before Sephiroth tries to return," she corrected. "But once he's gone, we have all the time in the world."

He smiled slightly. "That sounds good."

"I thought so too," she said softly before leaning in and kissing him.

He eagerly responded and pulled her closer to him so he could cradle her in his arms. She thrust one hand into his hair while the other one rested on his shoulder. They wanted to be even closer so, without breaking their kiss, Tifa twisted her body and wrapped her legs around his waist while he folded his legs under them so they formed a place for her to sit.

"That's much better," Loz murmured as he pressed her against his chest.

Tifa laughed. "I thought you'd like that." Her smiled disappeared slowly when she saw his brows creased with a frown. "Loz, are you okay?"

"My head hurts," he said as he touched his forehead. A fine layer of sweat was beginning to form across his skin. He looked up at Tifa before grabbing her by the arms. "You have to go. You can't stay! He's coming! Go now! I can't stop him!"

Tifa's eyes widened as she watched his face contort with pain. "Loz, I can't leave you!"

"He'll kill you!" he growled as he pushed her off of him and got to his feet only to groan and fall back to his hands and knees. "Please, Tifa!"

She let out a strangled cry as she pushed herself to her feet and ran to a part of the surrounding trees that was denser than the rest. She lowered herself to the brush and peered over it to watch Loz. His body was contorting in pain and then suddenly he stopped moving. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and looked up at the sky. He looked to the left and then the right before turning to look across the lake.

"Oh Tifa?" Sephiroth called with a smirk curling around his lips. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

"Oh God," she whispered as she dropped closer to the ground.

"I'll find you," he promised. "It will be easier for you in the end if I _don't_ have to chase you down."

"Yeah, right," she muttered. There was no way in _hell_ that she would alert him to her hiding spot…until her phone chirped to life. "Fuck," she snarled as she pulled the offending device from her pocket.

She turned to throw it as far away from her as possible, but a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. She wasn't surprised to be staring into Sephiroth's cold eyes once more.

"We should probably answer that," he said, his eyes reflecting humor at her predicament. "It might be important…like Cloud calling to warn you that I already paid him a visit." He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear. "Did you miss me, Cloud?"

"Cloud, don't you dare come rescue me!" Tifa yelled into the phone. "Don't give him what he wants! Stay as far away as…"

Sephiroth cut of her rant by covering her mouth with his hand and holding her against his borrowed body. "It's very rude to interrupt a private conversation. You'll have to excuse Tifa, Cloud. It seems as though living in the slums of Edge has caused her manners to degrade over time. However, we're both too busy to talk right now. You'll have to call back some other time."

Without listening to Cloud's response, Sephiroth tossed the phone over his shoulder and into the lake behind him. He then lowered his pale green eyes to stare at Tifa. He smirked and decided he wanted to have a little fun while he still had a body, so he released her. She turned to face him and backed away.

"What are you going to do now?" she demanded, faking a bravery she didn't feel at all.

He shrugged as he watched her. "That depends on you, Tifa."

She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Killing you at this point wouldn't be very effective," he said. "So it suits my purpose to let you live…for now."

"Why waste your time coming out again if your not going to kill me?" she asked still maintaining her distance from him.

Sephiroth turned away from her confident in his assessment that she wouldn't leave his remnant alone with him. He stared at the glassy water before speaking. "Cloud and Loz are my puppets and they both need to understand that neither of them control their destiny," Sephiroth explained. "Except for me. Loz knew this when I first created him and the other two remnants. But, then that Cetra went and interfered with everything by bringing him back and giving him a will of his own. First she tried to call on Holy, now this. Even dead she interferes with my plans."

Tifa clenched her fists as she listened to the monster inhabiting her lover talk about her friend, who he had killed, like she was some irritant, like a bug in his soup. He turned and faced her when she said nothing, his eyes dropping to her fists before smirking and raising them once again to her eyes.

"Am I hitting a nerve, Tifa?" he asked.

"They are not your puppets, Sephiroth!" she snapped. "Cloud will never destroy this planet! And Loz is not just your remnant anymore! He is his own man and he deserves to live his new life with out any interference from you!"  
"Is that how justify giving yourself him?" he asked, amusement lilting in his voice. He turned so he was once again facing her. He drew a hand down his body and continued speaking. "He may not look exactly like me, but never forget he will always be me. A part of me will always be with him."

"It must be the small sliver of humanity you haven't managed to kill," she snapped. "Because until you appear, Loz is the furthest thing from anything to do with you!"  
Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and quickly grabbed Tifa by the throat. "Maybe I _will_ kill you now."

* * *

Loz found himself surrounded by the white light of before. He frowned and looked around. "No! Not now! I have to protect Tifa! I don't have time for this."  
_Time is relative here, big brother,_ Kadaj said.

Loz stopped and looked around. "You haven't call me that since before the Turks found us in the Northern Cave."

Kadaj's laughter seemed almost childlike as it surrounded his brother. _That's because I let our mission consume me…and look what _that_ earned me._

"I have to somehow regain control of my body," Loz said anxiously. "He'll kill Tifa if I don't."

_Don't cry, Loz,_ Yazoo said lazily.

"I'm _not_ crying!" Loz snapped as he covered up a sniffle. "Why are you guys bugging me? I don't have any time."

_Then just do it,_ Kadaj said. _If you want to save her then just save her._

"If I knew how to stop him, I would!" Loz argued petulantly.

_He's not as strong as he wants you to think he is right now,_ Yazoo assured him. _Focus on Tifa and how you feel about her. You'll be drawn to her and your feelings will hurt Sephiroth and sap his strength._

"My…feelings?" Loz asked with a frown.

_Loz, you never were good at hiding your emotions,_ Kadaj teased. _Just…listen to your heart and you'll find the way to stop Sephiroth._

Loz frowned. "If you say so," he muttered before closing his eyes. He pictured Tifa and how she made him feel. His frown melted into a small smile as the light faded behind him. When he opened them he could see Tifa, but he also saw his hand around her neck. "No!"

"Poor little remnant," Sephiroth's voice surrounded him.

"Get your hands off of her!" Loz growled as he spun around in a circle.

"It seems I've found what _you_ cherish most," Sephiroth said menacingly. "Now I'll take it away from you."

"No!" Loz yelled as a bright light enveloped him.

* * *

Tifa choked against the hand on her throat as she fell to her knees. Sephiroth as Loz leaned closer to her as her life began to slip away, but suddenly his grip faltered. She looked up into his eyes and they seemed to glaze over as though no one existed behind them. He groaned in pain and his hand reflexively tightened around her throat painfully before he threw her away from him and grabbed his head.

"No! I'm not done yet!" Sephiroth yelled before hitting the ground.

Tifa coughed and held her throat, watching him fall still before passing out herself.


	17. The Turks Are On The Job Mature

Author's Note: It's a long chapter! Another sexy scene is buried in here. And Sephiroth is back…sort of. He is kinda OOC for plot purposes so consider yourself warned! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Yuffie looked up when Rude stepped out into the yard. She shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up at the big man.

"You lookin' for Reno?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Well, I think the kids roped him into a vigorous game of hide and seek," she said with a smile. "They're further down the yard."

"Thanks," he said as he went in the direction she had pointed.

"What a conversationalist," Yuffie said as she rolled her eyes and returned to reading the book in her lap.

Rude heard Reno before he saw him. He seemed to be enjoying the kids and Rude really hated what he had to do.

"I'm going to get you both this time!" Reno called in mock malice.

"Reno!" Rude called.

"Huh, it looks like my revenge will have to wait," he said with a smirk. "And no changing hiding places! This is an official time out!" He smirked at the sound of giggles and foliage rustling with the movement of the kids. He turned and hurried over to Rude. "What's up yo?"

"This game is going to have to be put on hold indefinitely," Rude said.

Reno's shoulders sagged. "Damn. What happened?"

"Sephiroth broke through the inhibitors," Rude answered. "This time he took over Cloud."

"Shit," Reno muttered. "Spiky wouldn't have given up without a fight, too. What about Sideburns?"

"He and Tifa are MIA," Rude said. "The Director said he couldn't reach Tifa or Loz by phone."

"Double shit," Reno said as he rubbed his eyes.

"And Vincent's involved too," Rude added.

Reno's face brightened. "Big Red's involved?"

"Yeah, and he politely refused to return Loz or Cloud to Healen for quarantine," Rude said.

Reno's face fell slightly. "Great. Let me guess: _we're_ the ones who have to bring them back right?"

Rude nodded. "By any means necessary."

Reno knew what that meant. "Not Spiky and Sideburns."

"We're Turks, Reno," Rude said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he said as he waved his hand dismissively. "Sometimes this job really sucks."

"You're not going to hurt Cloud and Loz are you?" Marlene asked.

Both men jumped in surprise when they noticed the children had appeared and were standing behind them.

"You scared the shit out of me kid," Reno said as he grabbed his chest.

"You shouldn't cuss in front of kids," Denzel corrected him.

"You sound like Tifa, kid," Reno said dryly.

"Are you going to hurt them?" Marlene asked impatiently.

Reno looked at Rude who turned away. "Thanks partner," he muttered before crouching down in front of Marlene. "Nah, we're all friends now. We're just going to find them and help them."

"You shouldn't lie to kids," Marlene said as she folded her arms across her chest and frowned.

"Hey, who said I was lying?" Reno asked defensively. He offered her his right pinky and winked. "I pinky swear I won't hurt them."

Marlene eyed him while Denzel whistled as he turned and edged closer to Marlene.

"Pinky swears are the most sacred swears," Denzel said.

Marlene purposefully gripped Reno's pinky with hers and shook it. "And may Sephiroth gauge your eyes out with his Masamune if you lied!"

"I wouldn't take that swear," Rude muttered.

Reno smiled brightly at Marlene. "I'll take that swear, short stuff. You guys go find Yuffie. Rude and I have to get going."

Denzel and Marlene nodded before running towards the house, though Marlene stopped to look at Reno again.

"Don't forget your promise, Reno," she said before following Denzel.

"That kid will never forgive you," Rude warned him.

"Man, I don't have any intention of breaking that promise," Reno assured him as they slowly followed the kids. "I like Spiky and I like Sideburns. There has to be a way to stop Sephiroth without killing them."

"If we fail and the president or the director find out it was because we let our personal feelings get in the way, we'll find ourselves with targets on our backs," Rude warned.

"I hate to tell ya this, partner, but if Sephiroth beats our boys, he'll kill us before Shinra can even form the thought to do it themselves," Reno pointed out with a smirk.

* * *

Loz opened his eyes slowly, his head still hurting as he pushed himself into a seated position. Once he was sitting up, he looked around was surprised to find himself in command of his body again. He stiffened as he remembered seeing Sephiroth choking Tifa and began to look around until his eyes rested on her fallen form. He hurried closer to her and rolled her onto her back. He rested his head against her chest and was relieved to hear her heart beating and that her breathing was strong.

"Tifa? Tifa, can you hear me?" he asked worriedly as he lifted her slightly in his arms.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Loz. I'm okay."

He smiled in relief and held her against his chest. "I was afraid he had killed you."

"Nah," she said with a smile as she rested her head against his chest. "I just got the wind knocked out of me."

They both looked up when they heard the roar of Fenrir. Loz instinctively held Tifa closer to him as the powerful bike came to an abrupt halt. Cloud jumped off and ran over to where they both were. He reached out and pulled Tifa into a hug.

"Thank the ancients you're okay," he said into her hair as he kissed her head.

Loz bit back his jealousy over Cloud's possessiveness towards Tifa and just allowed them to have their moment. Cloud looked up at Loz and reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.

Loz was surprised by his concern and he was sure it showed on his face. He managed to pull himself together and nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Sephiroth nearly killed Tifa, but I stopped him."

"What do you mean you stopped him?" Vincent asked as he approached the group slowly.

"You guys are gonna think I'm nuts but, when Sephiroth took over this time, I went somewhere else," Loz said. "The first time it happened, I could see everything he was doing and everything he was saying, but this time was different. It was bright…just a white light, but my brothers were there. They told me my feelings could hurt Sephiroth and sap his strength."

"What feelings?" Vincent asked.

Loz blushed slightly. "Does it matter?"

"It might," Vincent said.

Loz sighed and died a thousand deaths of private embarrassment. "My feelings for Tifa gave me the strength to push Sephiroth back."

Vincent thought for a moment. "Sephiroth must not be as strong as we thought."

"That's what Yazoo said," Loz said quietly.

"The fact that you were able to regain control of your body confirms that you are no long just his remnant," Vincent said. "That is a good thing, if you hope to survive this encounter."

"What do you mean?" Loz asked with a frown.

"Sephiroth won't be able to do what he did to Kadaj to you," Cloud said. "He won't be able to transform your body into his and that means we can attack him without worrying about killing each other."

"Oh," Loz mumbled.

"We can't stay here," Vincent said. "Tseng knows your pumps have failed and demanded you be returned to Healen for 'quarantine'. I refused his request and that means we're going to have company soon."

"This confrontation is going to happen and we have to decide the safest place for that to happen," Cloud said. "If we do it somewhere emotionally charged for Sephiroth, it may throw him off balance."

"Are you suggesting we go back to Nibelheim?" Tifa asked in shock.

"That was a painful time for Sephiroth," Cloud said, knowing she wouldn't like the idea.

"It was a painful time for all of us Cloud," Tifa said heatedly.

"Cloud's right," Vincent said. "It's possible that being there will force Sephiroth to relive everything that made him the monster he is today. He wasn't at his best when the madness first consumed him."

"Tifa, if there was somewhere else we could go, I would suggest it in a heartbeat," Cloud said gently. "And if we're going there, we should leave now. If you can't come, Loz and I will understand."

Tifa looked up at Loz agreeing to something he didn't full understand just to protect her from any unnecessary pain. "No…I can do this."

Vincent offered her his hand and helped her to her feet. "I'll take Tifa. I can get her there faster and she needs her rest."

Cloud nodded as he and Loz got to their feet. "We'll see you at the mansion?"

Vincent nodded before wrapping his cape around Tifa and disappearing. Loz turned and looked at Cloud.

"I nearly killed her," he confessed.

"That wasn't you, it was Sephiroth," Cloud said as they walked towards their bikes. "Listen, I've been where you are, trapped in a pool of guilt. You can't wallow, there. I did and while Tifa was always there for me, it was hard on her. If I knew then the pain I was causing her when I thought I was actually protecting her from it, I would have just been more honest and accepted the comfort she and kids gave me. Let her make you feel better."

"How can I do that when I should be able to stop him?" Loz asked in frustration.

"Look, even _I_ couldn't stop him from taking over my body and I've defeated him twice," Cloud said. "You're being too hard on yourself."

"I told Tifa that I want her to kill me if it will stop Sephiroth," Loz said as he settled on his bike. He turned and looked at Cloud. "I gave her my gun."

Cloud frowned as he settled on Fenrir. "I thought it was destroyed when we all blew up."

Loz smirked. "Well, _we_ survived blowing up, so why not my gun? And that's not all. My Dual Hound reappeared even though you destroyed it in the tunnel."

Cloud frowned. "If the Lifestream sent your weapons back, it must mean something. When we reach the Shinra Mansion, we should tell Vincent. Maybe he'll have some guess as to why that would happen. We should get out of here. If the Turks are looking for us, we don't have a lot of time."

* * *

Reno whistled lazily as he landed the Shinra helicopter on the outskirts of Midgar near Edge. Rude pulled off his headset and looked at Reno disapprovingly.

"If they know Shinra wants them to return to Healen, they're not going to stay in Edge," Rude said.

Reno shrugged as he hopped down from the helicopter. "Hey, Tifa owns a bar and Sideburns has a job here. We need to rule out the possibility that only Spiky and Big Red aren't willing to come with us. Maybe Sideburns and Tifa want to do the right thing."

"We are so getting fired for this," Rude said as he followed Reno. "Or killed."

"If they're not here, we'll check the church, then fly over the Wastelands, and then investigate the Forgotten City," Reno said with a smile.

"And if they're not there?" Rude asked.

Reno's smile faded slightly as he sighed. "Then we'll have to _really_ start looking. And hopefully by that time, they'll have stopped Sephiroth."

* * *

Tifa looked up when Vincent stepped closer and sat in the chair facing her. She smiled half-heartedly.

"I haven't been back here for such a long time," she said quietly.

"I'm sorry we had to return," Vincent said. "Hojo's lab and his notes are still in the basement. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find something to use against Sephiroth."

Tifa nodded as she pulled her blanket closer to her chin. "Loz asked me to kill him."

Vincent stared at her, his face betraying nothing of his thoughts. "I see."

"He doesn't want Sephiroth to hurt me using him to do it," Tifa said as she rubbed her eyes. "He even gave me his gun."

"Velvet Nightmare," Vincent said softly. "An appropriate name for his weapon. Was it not destroyed in the explosion?"

Tifa shrugged. "It was, but the Lifestream sent it back with him. He even has his Dual Hound, which Cloud destroyed."

"That is interesting," Vincent commented. "This information may give us a clue as to how we can stop Sephiroth. Will you be alright alone for a moment?"

She nodded and watched him disappear into the darkness. Once she was alone, she slumped into the chair and cried. As she wept, her eyes felt heavy and she gave into sleep again.

_She looked up at him and blushed as only a teenager could. Zack was cute, but the general…he was the one who had held all her attention. She couldn't believe how lucky she had been to pull guide duty for Shinra's SOLDIER division assigned to investigate the Nibelheim reactor. Tifa felt so unsophisticated in the presence of the famed General Sephiroth, Shinra's pride._

_ "Are you sure you can get us through the mountains?" Sephiroth asked her._

_ Tifa knew he had already decided that she was too young to be of any use to them. Part of her understood his thinking. But another part of her bristled at the assumption that she was incapable either due to her age or gender, possibly both._

_ "General Sephiroth, I played in the mountains my whole life," she said firmly. "I know them like the back of my hand. I'll get you where you need to go, don't worry."_

_ Sephiroth glanced down at her, studying her with his pale green eyes before nodding slightly and turning away. She could have sworn she had seen something flicker across his face…something like admiration before he had turned away from her._

_ "I think he likes you," Zack said near her ear._

_ She turned around quickly and glared up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_ He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Nothing bad. I was just saying that you put him in his place and he didn't knock you back down into _your_ place. With him, that's a compliment of the highest regard! We're all going to get along great!"_

_ A flash of light and Tifa was standing in the middle of her town, everything a light, burning in the night. Sephiroth stood amongst the flames and surveyed his handiwork. His eyes seemed to dance in the flames, yet they were not the same eyes she had looked into previously. They seemed dead, yet full of hatred and something else. As he turned away towards the path leading to the reactor, Tifa could have sworn she had seen a glimmer of sadness there too._

_ And then she was holding her father in his arms as he died from the wounds Sephiroth had inflicted on him. She numbly rose to her feet, voicing her hatred for everything Shinra before pulling his abandoned Masamune from the ground near her father. She vowed to herself she would exact revenge from Sephiroth for what he had done to her home. "You were supposed to help us," she whispered as she entered the reactor. It was all a blur when she saw Sephiroth standing in front of a door with his back to her._

_ Without a second thought, she was running up the stairs with his blade poised to strike him from behind. In a flash, he had rounded on her and grabbed her holding her up off the ground as he stared at her. There was no sadness or regret or sorrow there…they were just empty pools of hate. And then she was falling, her body bouncing off the metal steps like she was nothing more than a rag doll. Her limbs refused to move, but it didn't matter. He had swatted her away from him like she was nothing more than an annoying fly. She was of no consequence to the mighty Shinra general, so he left her on the floor where she had landed, bleeding from his brutal swipe at her with his Masamune. Whether she died then or when he and 'mother' brought Meteor back, it made no difference to him…and then she was alone._

Tifa sat up breathing heavily as she grasped her chest, half expecting to find it bleeding. She looked around and it took her a moment to realize she was in the Shinra Mansion on the outskirts of Nibelheim. She settled back against the chair she had fallen asleep in put a hand to her forehead.

"Damn you, Sephiroth," she whispered to no one in particular.

* * *

Rude glared at Reno as he whistled happily as they flew over the Wastelands in a haphazard grid search.

"You know I enjoy being your partner, Reno," Rude began. "But you are really pissing me off."

"Me? What am I doing?" Reno asked with a frown. "I'm just doing what you suggested. I'm searching for our AWOL friends."

"No, you are wasting time _pretending_ to search for them," he said. He sighed heavily and looked at his partner. "Look, I know your heart just isn't in this particular mission, but we can't pick and choose what missions we do. If you want to torpedo your career, then be my guest. But I happen to like my job and you are fucking with my career here too."

Rude hardly swore, so Reno knew he was serious. "Geez, sorry Rude. Look, just give them another half an hour and then we'll really start looking, okay?"

"Fine, but when Tseng wants to know what happened…"

"It's all on me," Reno said with a smile. "Thanks man."

* * *

Loz whistled as he looked up at the derelict mansion. "Vincent lives here?"

Cloud shrugged. "Sometimes."

"And you and Tifa grew up here?" he asked.

Cloud smiled slightly and nodded. "We did. Tifa's home isn't that far from here, actually."

Loz nodded and followed him up the path. "So…that stuff about the white light means I'm crazy, right?"

Cloud wanted to remain stoic, but he couldn't stop the small smirk that crossed his lips. "If that were true, I'd be crazy too."

"It's happened to you too?" Loz asked, both surprised and relieved.

Cloud nodded. "When you and your brothers first appeared, I had a lot of stuff going on. I felt guilty because Sephiroth killed someone very close to me and I blamed myself. She would appear to me and try to make me forgive myself. Then, during my battle with Sephiroth when he was using Kadaj's body as his own, my friend from SOLDIER, Zack, appeared to give me a boost to my confidence. He died protecting me and I felt guilty about that. Both of them helped me work through everything I felt and I even had the strength to ask Tifa for forgiveness."

Loz frowned slightly. "You love her, don't you?"

Cloud stopped moving and turned to face Loz. "Yeah, I do. But that doesn't matter. I wasted too much time dilly-dallying and now…well, now she has you."

Loz shook his head. "No, she doesn't love me. She can't love a part of _him_."

"She doesn't see that when she looks at you," Cloud said as he remembered her looking at him like that once upon a time. He looked at the silver-haired man in front of him and shook his head. "And trust me, she can forgive a lot."

Loz narrowed his eyes. "Not what Sephiroth's done. No one can forgive that."

Cloud shook his head. "You're right. No one can forgive that. But you're not Sephiroth. And the things you've done…well, Tifa appears to have forgiven you for that."

"But not you," Loz observed.

"One day, maybe," Cloud said with a shrug. "But right now all that matters is we can work together and the rest can wait until later."

Loz nodded. "Okay." Cloud looked at the outstretched hand Loz offered him before looking at him questioningly. Loz shrugged. "Isn't this how regular people seal a deal?"

Cloud nodded and shook his hand. "We have a deal. Come on. Let's find Vincent and Tifa."

They both entered the mansion and went in search of either of their friends. They saw a light on in the living room and went to investigate. The creaking of the floor alerted Tifa to their presence and she sat up in the chair she was sitting in trying to see who had entered. She immediately stiffened up when she saw it was Cloud and Loz. Normally, she would be happy to see either of them, but since their pumps had failed, she was worried she would find herself face to face with _two_ Sephiroths, just like she had in her nightmare.

"Are you okay, Tifa?" Cloud asked as he approached the chair.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm okay. How are you two?"

"I think that whatever I did to Sephiroth weakened him," Loz said. "I haven't felt even a twinge from him."

"Me neither," Cloud said. "Where's Vincent?"

"He went down to Hojo's lab and is trying to find anything to help us stop Sephiroth once and for all," she said.

"I'll go down and see if he needs any help," Cloud said. "You two should get some sleep."

Tifa nodded. "Okay Cloud." She watched him leave the room before turning her attention back to Loz. "Are you two okay with each other?"

He shrugged before kneeling down beside the chair. "Yeah. We're good for right now." He hesitantly reached out and stroked her cheek. "Are we…okay?"

She gently took his hand in hers and smiled. "We're fine, Loz. You don't have to worry. I know when it's you in charge and when it's Sephiroth and as I keep telling you, you are not responsible for his actions, okay?"

"Okay," he said doubtfully.

She smiled and shook her head. "Are you sure you're not a remnant of Cloud? You seem to have the same tendency to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders…even when it's not necessary."

"I'm just never going to be good enough for some people," he sighed.

She smiled and nodded. "That's true, but in time you'll learn who matters and who doesn't. Once you figure that out, you'll stop feeling so bad."

He shrugged. "If you say so."

"I _know_ so," she assured him. She watched him yawn and cover his mouth before smiling again. "You look exhausted. Let's head upstairs to bed. Vincent showed me a couple of rooms we could use."

Loz nodded and pushed himself to his feet. As he followed Tifa, he cocked his head to the side and watched the way her body moved. He knew she could fight and she was very powerful, but she managed to make something as simple as walking up the stairs look graceful. Some fighters tended to be heavy footed, like he was, but she seemed to move as if on a cloud. She was wearing just casual clothes, but she still looked as beautiful as she always did to him and he began to think over Cloud's words to him. _Now she has you._ But for how long? And he was sure what she felt wasn't love. Lust, sure. He felt it too, but love…no way. He wasn't even sure if what _he_ felt was love. Then he remembered Yazoo's words. _Focus on Tifa and how you feel about her,_ he had said. Loz rolled his eyes and shook his head. Yazoo was just being a sap. But then he frowned again as Kadaj's teasing replayed in his mind. _Loz, you never were good at hiding your emotions._ Kadaj had never been a sap…ever and if he thought Loz was in love, maybe what he was feeling was more than he thought.

Tifa stopped and looked behind her. She was surprised to find Loz gazing at her intently. He was watching her as though he was really seeing her for the first time. She could feel her body warming under his intense scrutiny.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

He seemed surprised when she spoke, but he nodded and stepped closer to her. "I'm fine. I was just thinking I don't want to be alone."

She smiled slightly. "Me neither."

"Will you stay with me?" he asked quietly.

She nodded and kissed his cheek. "I'd love to stay with you," she said near his ear.

He enjoyed the way the tiny hairs stood up on the back of his neck as her breath curled around his ear. He reached around Tifa and opened the door before backing her into the room. Tifa was excited, yet still found him intimidating. His physical stature alone made her aware of how small she was next to him. She shivered in anticipation when she looked into his eyes and saw what he had planned for them. She finally reached the bed and stopped moving as he closed the distance between them. Loz hesitantly reached out and touched her face and Tifa just let him explore the contours of her smooth skin.

"I want to touch you," he said.

"I want to touch you too," she answered.

"Not yet," he said as he shook his head. "I want to just touch you with no distractions."

"Um, okay," she said, curious to see what he had planned for her.

He pulled his own shirt over his head and Tifa couldn't help but let her eyes roam over his muscled torso. He didn't give her a chance to reach out for him as he gently pulled her shirt over her head. He liked the way she still blushed slightly despite the fact that he had seen her naked already. He sat on the bed and gently pulled her closer to him. He gently tugged her pants over her hips and slid them to floor, leaving her in her black bra and panties in front of him. He pulled her closer to him and softly kissed the plains of her flat stomach. She pushed her hands into his short hair and pressed him even closer to her body.

He ran his hands up the back of her thighs before letting the rest in the small of her back. He looked up at her before gently pulling her down to the bed beside and then rolled her on to her back. She eagerly watched him lightly trail his fingers up her body before caressing her throat and tracing the line of her jaw.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what are you doing?" she asked breathlessly.

"I want to memorize everything about you," he whispered before raising his jade green eyes to hers. "Just in case."

"Loz, there is no…"

He silenced her with a gentle finger against her lips. "Please stop telling me everything is going to be fine. Kadaj said the same thing and we ended up dead. I know I cry too much, but don't try to convince me we're all going to come out of this okay. We might not and if I don't come out of this, I want to have something to hold onto, okay? I want to die with a perfect memory of you."

She nodded. "Okay, Loz."

He gently rolled her on to her stomach and began touching her back. He liked looking at the muscles that lined her back because while he could feel them and almost see them, they were hidden under her soft flesh so that she still retained the feminine softness that made her fun to touch. He traced her spine, stopping only to unclasp her bra. He pushed the straps out of his way as ran his hand along her soft skin on his way down to her panties. He slowly drew them down as he got to his feet and shed the rest of his own clothes.

Tifa had rolled over as he had left the bed and now watched him approach the bed once more. She eagerly accepted his kiss as he moved between her legs and slowly pushed himself into her warm inviting body. She sighed in ecstasy as he moved within her so gently. Before, their sex had been raw and slightly rough due to the urgency they had felt to claim each other's body. However, this time was different. This time it was more sensual and they both wanted to take it slow so they enjoy the feeling of each other. This time, they let their bodies say the things they couldn't admit out loud…not yet

And as he pulled one of her legs higher along his thigh, she pushed herself up on one elbow and wrapped on of her arms around his neck. He traced patterns along her neck with his tongue as she shuddered with an orgasm so intense that she was unable to make a sound. He followed her after with his orgasm drawn out with his long slow thrusts. As they both began to come down from their mutual release, Tifa lowered herself to the bed once more and pulled him with her so that his head was resting on her chest.

After a moment he raised his head and kissed her parted lips. When he pulled back, she smiled up at him, making the corner of one side of his lips lift in a half smile.

"Thank you, Tifa," he whispered.

"For what?" she asked.

"For everything," he said before rolling onto his back and pulling the blankets over them.

"Well, you're welcome," she said quietly as she rolled into the circle of his arms.

He kissed the top of her head. "I'm gonna miss you," he whispered.

"No, you won't," Tifa assured him. "Because I'm not going to let _him_ take you away from me. I promise."

Loz smiled slightly as his lids began to droop tiredly. "Ya know, I think I'm starting to believe you."

* * *

Somewhere in the dark, Sephiroth became aware of having the weight of a body in his limbs. How long had it been since that damned remnant pushed him aside? Minutes? Hours? Days? A frown creased his brow as he struggled against the headache assaulting his senses to open his eyes. He was going to make that disobedient remnant pay as soon as he was reborn. Cloud could wait, but his priority was going to be making sure that remnant died slowly and painfully!

He opened his eyes and glanced around the room. It seemed vaguely familiar, but the pain in his head prevented him from trying to figure out his location. All he needed to know was that he was no longer in the Forgotten City. He was in a bed and he knew he was in the remnant's body. And he wasn't alone, he noticed when he looked down at his borrowed chest and saw a slim hand resting over his heart. He slowly turned his head and saw Tifa sleeping in his arms.

He smirked slightly. If she only knew he was there, she would be out of that bed and out of the house, or wherever they were, in a flash. He could feel her naked body against his, yet he had no recollection of anything that had transpired between her and his remnant. He had seen _everything_ the first two times they had shared their bodies. He had felt every touch, every kiss, and every stroke, but whatever his remnant had done to him in the Forgotten City had knocked him out cold.

He continued to stare at her as she slept, contemplating what he should do in this unique situation. He could kill her and leave her for his remnant to find the next day, but then Cloud would be really fired up and would most likely channel all of his anger into stopping him…permanently. Sephiroth let a smirk curl around his lips as he contemplated waking her for another round of lovemaking so he could reveal to her as he drew an orgasm from her body that she had given herself to him and not Loz, but he knew she would see his eyes and know he wasn't Loz immediately. Damn that Mako energy infused throughout him! And given his weakened state, she may be able to do some damage to him. She was a skilled fighter and if she ever got the upper hand, she could seriously injure him.

Instead, he continued to turn his options over in his head. As he did that, he unconsciously began to lightly stroke her arm with one hand as the other traced nonsensical patterns on the back of her hand. His movements caused Tifa to stir. Sephiroth froze his movements as she nuzzled against his chest.

"You okay?" she murmured quietly.

He had to answer her, but caught as unawares as he was without a plan he didn't want to reveal he was the one in control of Loz's body. So he closed his eyes and nodded, adding an "Mm-hm" for good measure.

"You sure?" she asked as she lifted her head.

He could feel her staring at him, but he kept his eyes closed and nodded. "Yep," he whispered hoping that all whispers sounded the same.

She shrugged before kissing him gently on the lips, tracing his bottom lip with her tongue before kissing his cheek. "Okay. Try to get some rest."

Confident that his whisper did sound like Loz, he answered her again. "Okay."

She rolled onto her side facing away from, yet pressed her body up against his snugly. Sephiroth slowly opened his eyes and glanced down at her back. For reasons unknown to even himself, he rolled over as well and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her even tighter against his body. She adjusted herself against him and moved the hand at her waist up so that it covered one of her breasts. Sephiroth was still until he felt her relax completely in his arms as her breathing steadied into a slow deep pattern. As he laid there, he had the overwhelming urge to roll her onto her back and look at her with his own eyes and touch her with his own hands. She would wake up undoubtedly, but it had been a long time since he had even _touched_ a woman.

At the same time, he could feel himself losing control over his remnant. It was as though he was falling asleep and he knew when his remnant woke in the morning, he was going to be the one controlling his body. To maintain the control he had on Loz's body at this point would just be a waste of the energy he was trying to rebuild so he could finally be reborn, so he allowed himself to close his eyes and surrender his control once more.

As he fell asleep holding Tifa in his arms, his final conscious thought was, _Maybe I _won't_ kill her right away after all._


	18. Revisiting the Past

Author's Note: So yeah, that last part of chapter 17…pretty creepy, huh? I'm not really taking this in a "Sephiroth wants Tifa sexually" kind of way. I just threw that in there to show his appearances are becoming unpredictable and to add a level of creepiness to Sephiroth (not that he needs it! ;D ). Enjoy everyone!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Vincent looked up when Cloud entered the basement. "You didn't take long getting here."

Cloud shrugged. "That remnant rides more dangerously than me so we cut a lot of the travel time down. Tifa said you were looking for something to stop Sephiroth. Did you find anything?"

Vincent shook his head. "Just what we already knew. Sephiroth is Hojo's most perfect monster."

"Well, that's true," Cloud conceded. He sighed before looking down at the notes Vincent had already sifted through.

Vincent watched Cloud thoughtfully before speaking again. "Did you and Loz talk after we left?"

Cloud didn't look at Vincent as he nodded, instead focusing on the files on the table. "Yeah."

Vincent waited silently before talking again. "And did you come to an agreement?"

Cloud looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Do you mean am I going to kill him for having with Tifa what I was always to stupid to pursue?"

"Yes, actually," Vincent said deadpan.

Cloud shook his head. "No, I'm not going to kill him and he's not going to kill me. You know, I actually kind of like him. And he makes Tifa smile, something I haven't been able to do since we were kids."

"I guess letting go isn't as impossible as you thought it was," Vincent said quietly.

"Sephiroth is a great motivator," Cloud said dryly. "Vincent, there has to be a way to stop him."

"It's time to consider the possibility that we won't be able to stop him," Vincent said. "We may have to wait until he actually appears in physical form before we can do any damage to him."

"But if we wait until then, it's possible only you and Tifa will be left to face him," Cloud said.

"Cloud, Tifa and I are both capable of defending ourselves," Vincent said.

"I know," Cloud said as he finally looked at his friend. "But...there is something wrong with Sephiroth."

"I though we already covered this subject," Vincent said.

"No, there's something wrong with his thoughts," Cloud frowned as he tried to put his feelings into words. "His thoughts are…chaotic."

Vincent frowned slightly. "How so?"

"He told me he was going to use me and his remnant to bring him back to physical form. Then he told you, he wanted to keep both of us as his hosts so he could kill those closest to us without any suspicions."

"Tifa mentioned that Loz was initially under the impression that Sephiroth was going to claim Loz's body as his own permanently," Vincent said thoughtfully before picking up one of his discarded files. He flipped through a few pages before stopping. "In earlier experiments using Jenova cells, subjects in the Jenova Project G experienced degradation. An example lists Genesis Rhapsodos showing a physical manifestation of the degradation inherent in all test subjects involved in Project G."

Cloud frowned. "So?"  
"Sephiroth is considered Hojo's perfect monster because he was created under the Jenova Project S program," Vincent continued. "And his perfection is due to the fact that he didn't show any signs of degradation."

"Okay?" Cloud said slowly.

"Perhaps Hojo's 'perfect monster' isn't so perfect after all," Vincent said. "Maybe, after all his body and mind have been through, he is finally showing signs of degradation."

Cloud's eyes widened slightly. "Do you think the madness that led him to burning Nibelheim to the ground is getting worse?"

"It's possible," Vincent said. "There are too many unknowns and we are running out of time. Sephiroth will return and if you and Loz suffer any more attacks on your minds from Sephiroth, you might not survive his rebirth."

Cloud nodded. "I know. We have to draw him out as soon as possible, but I have no idea how to do that."

* * *

Reno knelt beside the lake and frowned. "Yo, does that look like a phone to you?"

Rude lifted his sunglasses and nodded. "It does."

Reno slipped his jack off and rolled up his sleeve so he could easily reach into the water and retrieve the waterlogged piece of technology. He lifted it and held it closer to his face.

"This looks like Tifa's phone," he said, real concern setting in. "This is why the director couldn't reach her."

"And over here it looks like there was a struggle," Rude said as he crouched down near the ground and pointed to where Tifa had struggled with Sephiroth as he choked her.

"Damn," Reno muttered as he stepped around the scene of the struggle. He did breathe a sigh of relief when he saw Vincent's unmistakable foot print. "Ah, but it looks like Big Red came to the rescue and he brought Spiky! Those are Fenrir's tracks."

"And this pattern here is a Shinra standard issue tire tread," Rude said as he got to his feet and pointed at another set of tracks. "They both seem to be heading out of the forest."

Just then, Reno's phone rang. "What's up Elena?"

"The president and the director want an update, Reno," she said urgently.

"Tell them they're not in Edge and we searched the Wastelands with no sign of them," Reno said. "But we think they were in the Forgotten City recently. There are signs of a struggle, but there are tracks that lead us to believe that both Cloud and Loz were here as well. We're going to see if we can figure out where they were heading,"

Elena was silent for a moment before whispering heatedly, "What are you doing Reno? Are you _trying_ to killed?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, yo?" he asked with a frown.

"You should already have figured out where they're heading!" she exclaimed quietly. "The president is _not_ going to be impressed that you even wasted any time looking in Edge in the first place, Reno. You better not mess this up or your ass is on the line!"

"Aw, I didn't know you cared sweetie," Reno said with a smile.

Elena sighed. "Only the gods know _why_ I care, you big jerk. I'll give them your report and try to buy you some time, but like I said. If something happens to derail Shinra's attempts to _not_ look like the evil company it used to be…"

"I know," Reno said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm a dead fucker."

* * *

Loz yawned as he became aware of light shining in his eyes. He opened them slowly and looked around. Sometime in the night, he and Tifa had rolled onto their sides and he was still holding her. He kissed her shoulder lightly, drawing a soft moan from Tifa.

"That feels nice," she said before rolling over in his arms so she could look up at him. "Last night was fantastic."

"Yeah," he said with a smirk. "But playing with you is always fantastic."

She laughed softly and nodded. "Playtime is fun, there's no doubt about that. Are you okay this morning though?"

He frowned. "Huh? Why wouldn't I be?"

"I woke up when you were stroking my arm last night and you didn't seem like yourself," she said quietly. "You said you were okay, but…"

"I talked to you?" he asked with a frown. "I don't remember that."

Tifa shrugged. "Maybe you were talking in your sleep."

"Maybe it was Sephiroth again," Loz said as he searched his memory for the incident in question.

Tifa smiled and shook her head. "I doubt it. If it had been Sephiroth, he would have just killed me. Besides, the touch on my arm was too gentle to be him. I'm going to have a shower, okay?"

Loz nodded. "Sure."

Once he was alone, he sat up against the headboard and thought for a moment. He wanted to remember the moment between them, but nothing was coming to mind. He remembered Tifa's recent assurances. _If it had been Sephiroth, he would have just killed me._ She was probably right. But then he was struck by a sudden memory. He had heard Sephiroth's thoughts! He frowned as he tried to remember what he had been thinking. He knew it had made him mad enough to try and push Sephiroth back again. What had he said? Loz's eyes widened slightly as the General's thoughts began to become clearer in his mind. _I could kill her and leave her for my remnant to find the next day._ That bastard! He could really just look at a person and kill them without a second thought? But then Loz paled as the next memory came to mind. _Sephiroth let a smirk curl around his lips as he contemplated waking her for another round of lovemaking so he could reveal to her as he drew an orgasm from her body that she had given herself to him and not Loz. _No, he couldn't do that to her…Loz refused to allow it, even if it meant stopping him would end his life. As if to add insult to injury, one final memory popped into his head: _Maybe I _won't_ kill her right away after all._

"No," he said out loud. "I won't let you do that!"

He jumped out of bed and pulled on his pants before hurrying from the room, hoping someone else was up. He had to talk to Vincent or Cloud right away. He found the stairs and hurried down them, almost tripping over his own feet as he ran down the stairs. Cloud appeared at the bottom of the staircase with a frown on his face.

"Whoa, slow down," he said as he reached out a steadying hand. "You look like you just saw a mako monster. What's wrong?"

Loz took a deep breath. "Sephiroth came out when I was sleeping."

"How do you know?" Cloud asked, his frown deepening.

"Tifa said I woke her up," Loz said, blushing slightly. "She said I was touching her arm or something and when she spoke to me I was acting strange. She didn't think it could be Sephiroth because the touch was gentle, but the more I thought about, memories began to pour out."

"What kind of memories?" Cloud asked.

"Sephiroth thought about killing her while she slept or…"

Cloud grabbed his arm and shook him slightly "Or what?"

Loz looked at him and shuddered. "Or having sex with her before telling her it was him and not me."

Cloud's eyes widened before they narrowed dangerously. "That bastard." He let go of Loz and began pacing. "He never seemed interested in women at all. He was always too focused on the mission at hand. He was famous and had lots of willing women throwing themselves at him, but he never seemed to notice. Why now? Why Tifa, after everything he's done to her?"

"Did something happen?" Vincent asked as he appeared from the shadows.

"You could say that," Cloud said. "But I think we should talk about downstairs in case Tifa comes down. It's not something she may want to hear just yet."

Vincent sat thoughtfully as the two men relayed Loz's memories of the previous night to him. Once they were finished, Vincent looked at Cloud.

"The events of last night seem to confirm my theory, Cloud," Vincent said. "It appears that Sephiroth's mind has begun to deteriorate. This could be a good thing, though it could also be a very bad thing."

"I don't get it," Loz said with a frown.

"If Sephiroth is crazy…well, more so than usual, he may not be able to be as effective in a fight against all four of us," Cloud said. "Do you find his thoughts chaotic?"

Loz shook his head. "No. He seems focused to me."

Cloud looked at Vincent. "What the hell does all this mean?"

Vincent shook his head. "I don't have any answers for you Cloud. This may be something only you and Loz can work out. You two are the only ones he has contact with. Only you two can speak to him."

"I think he's sleeping again," Loz said.

Cloud nodded. "He's probably regenerating." He looked at Loz. "Get dressed. You and I are going to try communing with Sephiroth."

* * *

Elena stood in front of Tseng and Rufus Shinra, waiting for their response to her report. Tseng looked at the president, anxiously waiting for his response to what Reno had told her. Rufus looked at Elena coldly.

"You're dismissed," was all he said to her.

Once the door closed behind her, Tseng looked down at the man beside him. "Sir, I…"

"Sit down, Tseng," he said without preamble. Once the Turk was seated, Rufus leaned forward in his chair and clasped his hands together, resting them on the desk. "Just how are you training these Turks?"

Tseng raised his eyebrows. "The way I always have, sir."

"And do you have an explanation for this…insubordination from Reno?" he asked with a cool lift of one eyebrow.

"Reno has always been an unconventional recruit," Tseng said. "He is lazy and rebellious, however, when given a mission, he becomes a model Turk and I have never been concerned with him being my second in command."

Rufus nodded slowly. "And what is your opinion about his search tactics as reported by Elena?"

Tseng maintained his eye contact with Rufus. "It's sloppy, even for him, but I have the utmost confidence that Reno and Rude will achieve their objective."  
"Would you like to know what I think?" Rufus asked, the calm voice clashing with the anger in his eyes.

Tseng nodded. "Indeed I would, sir."

"I think Reno is thinking with the wrong head," Rufus said crudely. "He has become close with Tifa Lockheart and he seems to care about her and is always trying to impress her. He is also fond of Strife and the remnant. I think he is purposely giving them a head start on their getaway so he will not have to either bring Strife and the remnant back or dispose of them. He is letting his feelings dictate his actions in this matter, he is exploiting his friendship with his partner to achieve this, and he is ultimately failing in his responsibilities as a Turk. You know what this means, Tseng."

Tseng nodded grimly. "I know sir, however, I think that Reno may be right in his approach."

"You aren't making the same mistake your second-in-command is, are you?" Rufus asked. "Your feelings aren't clouding your judgment are they?"

Tseng straightened in his chair bristling at the veiled insult. "Permission to speak freely sir?"

A cold smirk curled around Rufus' lips as he inclined his head. "Granted, of course."

"We have known each other for a long time," Tseng said as he looked at the young president. "You _know_ I take this job very seriously and wouldn't have gotten as far as I have if that wasn't true, so to suggest that I would let my feelings rule me is beyond insulting. And questioning how my staff runs their investigations is an insult to me as well. If you no longer trust me, then perhaps it is time for me to consider retirement."

Rufus' eyebrows had risen during Tseng's speech and he now just stared at the man. He shifted slightly and cleared his throat. "It was not my intention to question your command of the Turks, nor was it my intention to insult you, however containment is our priority in this situation, not murder. And you know…"

"I'm sorry, but that's not true," Tseng said, still angry about the accusations his employer was now trying to retract.

"I beg your pardon?" Rufus asked with a deadly calm.

"You know that there is no way for us to contain Sephiroth," Tseng said. "And we as Turks know that if containment cannot be achieved, then the problem is to just 'disappear'. This problem will not disappear because even if you silence, Cloud, the remnant, and Tifa Lockheart, there is still Vincent. And we have no guarantee that killing Cloud and the remnant will even stop Sephiroth. If we were even able to put them into quarantine, being in a Shinra facility will only anger Sephiroth even more and he will kill everyone in sight."

"What else can we do?" Rufus asked tightly.

"Cloud has defeated Sephiroth before and we have to trust that he can do it again," Tseng said. "And even if you don't think so, Reno is one of my best Turks and he will stop at nothing to prevent Sephiroth from calling Meteor down and destroying our world."

"I hope your faith in Reno is not misplaced, Tseng," Rufus said as he glanced at his watch. "You may go, but I want regular updates and if Reno takes anymore liberties with his interpretations of my orders, he will need to be…punished."

Tseng clenched his jaw before nodding stiffly and leaving the room. He was careful to close the door as he normally would so as not to alert Rufus to the anger coursing through him. Elena was waiting in a chair facing the door and jumped to her feet before following closely on Tseng's heels.

"What did he say?" she asked.

Tseng waited until the elevator doors closed before facing her. "Reno is on thin ice and if this mission blows up in his face, there will be no charming his way out of what the president has planned for him."

"That jerk," Elena muttered before gasping when Tseng looked at her sharply. "Not President Shinra, sir. I was talking about Reno. What can we do?"

Tseng sighed and shook his head. "Not much. Get in touch with Reno and tell him his time is up and they need to find them _now_ or there is nothing I can do to help him."

Elena lowered her head and nodded. "Yes sir."

* * *

Loz looked around them as they entered the defunct reactor deep in Mount Nibel. He shivered as he looked around. Whatever happened here was not good, that much he could tell.

"Gods, it seems like it only just yesterday," Cloud murmured.

"What happened here?" Loz asked as they stopped at a metal staircase.

"This is where Sephiroth came after burning Nibelheim to the ground," Cloud said as looked at the floor. "And this is where I found Tifa after he had slashed her and left her to die."

Loz frowned and looked at the floor in disgust. "He must have been insane to think nothing of leaving her to die."

"Isn't that what you did in the church?" Cloud asked.

Loz looked at him sharply. "Did I stab her? Was she near death when I left? She had to stay alive so she could tell you I took the little girl. So no, that's _not_ what I did, brother. Why are we here?"

Cloud ignored his retort and looked up the stairs. "We're here to provoke Sephiroth. This may be tough for you, though too."

"Why?" Loz asked suspiciously.

"This is where they kept Jenova," Cloud said as he slowly walked up the stairs. "And you were the most emotional of your brothers about 'mother'."

Loz felt his stomach tighten at the thought of 'mother'. He had gone such a long time without even thinking about her, but now…he was about to enter her previous resting place. He slowly followed Cloud, but as he did, the room around him changed slightly. Instead of being dark with disuse, the generators hummed with activity and the mako pits glowed the eerie green glow it naturally had. When he turned to look behind him once he reached the top of the staircase, he saw the body of a teenage girl at the bottom of the stairs. The world around him faded to the darkness again and there was no girl at the bottom of the stairs anymore.

"Hey," Cloud said as he stepped closer to Loz. "You okay?"

Loz frowned. "Not sure. I keep seeing flashes, you know? Like parts of the past are playing again."

"Is Sephiroth speaking to you?" Cloud asked anxiously.

Loz shook his head. "No, I think I'm just getting his memories. Let's keep going."

Cloud reluctantly nodded and led him into the Jenova chamber. Loz saw the toppled metal Jenova 'doll' that had shielded Jenova from sight and as he stepped into the antechamber where 'mother' had really been kept, the room again glowed with the light of the past. He finally laid his on 'mother' and he watched as a black-gloved hand that appeared to be his touched the glass holding her out of his reach.

"Mother," he murmured before the light faded again and he was confronted by an empty glass tube that had been broken so long ago. He turned and looked at Cloud. "What happened?"

"Sephiroth never knew his real mother and had always been told his mother's name was Jenova," Cloud explained. "When he found out how he came to be, he wanted to find her and he came here. When he found her, he cut off her head and was going to look for the Promised Land with her."

"So when Reno said we were after Jenova's head, he wasn't just being mean?" Loz asked.

Cloud shook his head. "Sephiroth literally removed her head. Are you feeling any stirrings at all?"

Loz shook his head. "I had a couple of memory flashes, but that's it. I think he's still sleeping. What about you?"

Cloud shrugged. "I've got nothing. Damn, I hoping this would jumpstart his plans. Just being back here gives me the chills so the hell can he just sleep?"

"Maybe it's not by choice?" Loz suggested. "Maybe taking over our bodies takes more energy the he thought." He frowned when Cloud didn't answer him. He turned and found Cloud standing right behind him his deep mako enhanced blue eyes were now a pale green and a smirk on his lips.

"Subtlety and timing is more to my taste, remnant," Sephiroth said before Loz's world went dark.


	19. The Past Returns

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Vincent found Tifa pacing in the study. "Something on your mind?"

She turned and looked up at him. "Vincent, something's going on and I know you know what it is, so spill your guts."

"Cloud and Loz have reason to believe that when you woke up last night you were actually speaking with Sephiroth," he answered simply.

Tifa paled slightly. "I told Loz that if it had been him, he would have just killed me."

"You are a good fighter, Tifa," Vincent said. "If Sephiroth was still weak from his battle with Loz over control of Loz's body, he might have felt it was wiser for him to pretend he was still Loz."

"I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered as she put her hand over her mouth and dropped into a chair. She squeezed her eyes shut as she remembered willingly placing his hand on…she couldn't even bear to remember being held in that madman's arms! _He_ had rolled over and pulled _her_ into his arms! "Why would he touch me like that?"

"We don't know," Vincent said.

Tifa suddenly realized Cloud and Loz had been gone too long and frowned. "Vincent, where are Cloud and Loz?"

"They left to attempt communicating with Sephiroth," he answered.

"I know that, but _where_ did they go?" Tifa specified

"The reactor in the mountains," Vincent answered.

Tifa got to her feet quickly. "Vincent, we have to find them. If Sephiroth makes his move now, they'll be defenseless."

"Normally I would tell you you're wrong, but they have been gone longer than I am comfortable with," Vincent said as he stepped aside to allow Tifa to lead the way.

* * *

Rude looked at Reno doubtfully. "Are you sure they'd go back to Nibelheim?"

"If they want information about Sephiroth, the best place to go is the Shinra Mansion," Reno said. "With Big Red staying there and Shinra employees going 'missing' when they try to clear out the place, Hojo's lab and his notes are still there. He was a sick twist, but he took a lot of notes regarding his 'experiments'. Sephiroth's life is probably recorded down to the most minute detail and it all there."

Rude nodded. "I guess you're right. I hope we're not too late."

"I hope we don't find that town burning again!" Reno said. "I do not want to even think about how much paperwork _that_ would involve."

Rude smirked. "You always hated the paperwork."

Reno chuckled and nodded. "Damn straight, yo! I am too cute to be trapped doing mountains of paperwork."

* * *

Sephiroth stretched slightly and looked around him. Since his remnant had absorbed most of his memories of that fateful day, he was able to stand there in the reactor next to the prison which had held his 'mother' without the full impact of being back after so long. A smirk curled around his lips as he looked down at both Cloud and Loz on the ground behind him. It felt good to have his own body once more and it would feel even better to destroy everyone who caused him pain and made him into the monster he had become. With Cloud out of the way, he was free to start repaying the wrongs committed against him and 'mother'.

He swung around when he heard the door outside of the Jenova chamber open. Someone had come looking for Cloud and the remnant…he was pretty sure he knew _who_ it was. He stepped into the shadows of the darkened room and edged closer to the door leading into the room. He stopped when he heard voices.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Vincent asked when he noticed Tifa had stopped at the bottom of the stairs and was staring at the floor.

Tifa shuddered as she pressed her hands against her chest where her scar was currently hidden. She looked up at Vincent and nodded. "It's just a little overwhelming, that's all."

Vincent inclined his head. "If you need to leave…"

Tifa shook her head. "No, I…I need to stay Vincent. I need to do this."

"Very well," he said as he walked up the stairs.

Tifa squared her shoulders and followed him. She had never gotten past the top of the stairs, so she was curious to see what Sephiroth had been looking for on that fateful day. And when she finally entered the chamber past the fallen metal façade of Jenova, she gasped. Not because she was horrified by her surroundings, but because she saw Vincent kneeling between Cloud and Loz. She hurried over to where the two men were lying and looked at Vincent.

"Are they…?"  
He shook his head. "No, they're both alive. But judging by their current state, I would say we're too late."

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked.

"I think Sephiroth has finally made his move," Vincent said.

"Shit," Tifa muttered. "And we have no idea where he is."

"You need to call Rufus," Vincent said. He held up his hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "We need his people to figure out what's wrong with Loz and Cloud."

Tifa sighed and nodded as she reached into Cloud's pocket and pulled out his phone. "You're right. Damn, I'm not getting a signal. I have to get closer to the outside."

"Tifa, should you be wandering around by yourself?" Vincent asked.

"It's either I go out there by myself or I sit around in here by myself while you go," Tifa said with a shrug. "Because we can't leave them here alone. What if he comes back for them? And we don't even know if he left them or if he's still in there. One of us has to call Rufus."

Vincent nodded. "Fine. You go, but be careful."

She nodded and ran out of the room. Vincent sighed and looked down at the pained expressions on their faces. He was pretty sure they hadn't looked like that a moment ago. Cloud suddenly squeezed his hand.

"Vincent," he whispered, his eyes squeezed shut. "Don't let her go."

"He's still here," Loz growled as he tried to move, but failed.

Vincent looked up at the sound of the door grinding closed. "Sephiroth!"

Sephiroth only smirked before closing the door completely and locking it.

* * *

Tifa kept watching the signal strength on the phone's display as she ran through the abandoned reactor. She stopped when she heard what sounded like a metal grinding against metal. She listened for a moment.

"Vincent?" she called, but got no response. _Shit_, she thought to herself as she continued running towards the exit.

As she got closer to the outside, the stronger the signal got and finally she was able to dial a number. She quickly dialed Reno's number and listened to it ring. She still kept moving not wanting to know what had made that noise.

"Spiky? That you?" Reno's voice sounded in her ear.

"Reno! It's Tifa," she said as she began climbing the last set of stairs.

"Babe! Are you guys okay?" he asked, relief in his voice.

"No, Cloud and Loz are out cold and we don't know what happened to them," she said, breathing a little heavier.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"We're at the react…" she was cut off as she gasped when a hand pulled her ankle out from under her, sending her face first on the stairs and the phone to the stair near her hand. She shook her head and rolled over onto her back, her eyes widening as she watched Sephiroth slowly ascend the stairs in front of her. "Sephiroth."

He said nothing as he continued to smirk, slowly climbing the stairs. Suddenly in the blink of an eye, he was standing over her, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and lifting her away from the metal stairs, pulling her close to his face. She shuddered as his breath fanned across her cheek. He only broke their eye contact to look at the fallen phone. She too dragged her eyes from his face to look at the phone. Tifa couldn't stop the flinch that vibrated through her body as she watched him brutally slice the phone in half with his Masamune. He slowly slid his glowing eyes back to her, baring his teeth to her in a sadistic grin.

"No one is coming for you this time, Miss Lockheart," he said softly.

Tifa looked at him helplessly. "Sephiroth, you've taken so much from me already. Why are you doing this?"

"I haven't even gotten started yet," he promised.

Tifa did _not_ like the sound of that and knew she had to fight back. She may end up hurting herself more, but she had to try. Without warning, she kicked him in the stomach, the speed and suddenness of her attack causing him to drop her. The sensation of having his own body, not a borrowed one, made his reaction time slower than normal and she used the opportunity of his momentary surprise to push herself to her feet and run up the stairs. She refused to acknowledge the sound of his pursuit…or his laughter.

* * *

"Are you sure they're here?" Rude asked as they circled the abandoned reactor.

Reno nodded as he prepared to land. "Before she was cut off, she said they were at the react. I know she meant reactor."

He landed the helicopter a little more sloppily than Rude had ever seen. He knew his partner was really worried because one of the things Reno prided himself on was being an exceptional pilot. Reno killed the engine and swung his door open, EMR in hand. Rude followed him and pulled out his gun.

"The entrance is over there," Rude said as he gestured at the open door.

They both jogged towards the entrance but stopped when Tifa came running out of the building, slamming the door behind her. Reno sagged with relief before hurrying toward her, but his relief disappeared when the door flew off its hinges and Sephiroth chased after Tifa. Reno watched in horror as Sephiroth drew his blade and aimed at Tifa. Without thinking, Reno ran to her and pushed her behind him, pulling out his EMR to block his attack as Sephiroth lowered his blade. Reno slowly lifted his EMR and looked at it, now half its original size.

"Fuck me," he said as he looked from the tip of the now shortened weapon to Sephiroth's face.

Sephiroth smirked before thrusting his blade into Reno's shoulder and lifting him off the ground. He grinned maliciously as the Turk screamed out in pain and clutched the blade, trying to stop himself from sliding further down its cold length.

"You Turks are just as amusing as you always were," Sephiroth said before flinging Reno off of his sword and to the side. He turned his pale green eyes back towards Tifa and Rude. "Who's next?"

Rude cocked his gun and pointed it at Sephiroth. "Who do you think?"  
Sephiroth smirked. "I need the practice anyway."

Rude waited for Sephiroth's move, but was surprised when Sephiroth froze momentarily. He watched carefully to see if Sephiroth was just waiting for him to move, but the former Shinra General did nothing.

"Um…what's he doing?" Rude asked.

Tifa shrugged. "Who cares? We have to check Reno."

Rude nodded and kept his gun trained on Sephiroth as he and Tifa edged around him towards Reno. The red headed Turk looked up and shook his head.

"No, you two, have to get out of here," Reno gasped as he held his shoulder.

"I ain't leaving you here," Rude said over his shoulder with a smirk. "You have to tell the president that our failure is all your fault. Besides, think of all the paperwork you would be leaving me if you went and died."

Reno closed his eyes and chuckled despite the pain. "I could never do that to you, yo."

Tifa knelt beside Reno and helped him sit up. "We have to help Vincent. He's with Loz and Cloud in the Jenova chamber."

"I can't leave you with a wounded Turk and this nut job," Rude said gesturing towards Sephiroth who still hadn't moved.

"Help me get Reno into the helicopter," Tifa said. "Surely you guys have a place we can hide in there."

Rude nodded before edging slowly towards Sephiroth. He slowly raised his hand and snapped his fingers in front of face, yet the general didn't even flinch. He backed up and pulled Tifa to her feet.

"I can get Reno," he said. "Can you shoot a gun?"

Tifa pulled out Loz's gun from the holster strapped to her back and aimed it at Sephiroth. "Yes."

Rude quirked an eyebrow and looked at the gun. "That thing means business."

Tifa watched Sephiroth closely as he stood still, not moving one muscle in his body. "What are you doing in there?"

* * *

_ "Am I…a human being?" he asked as he stared at his trembling hands._

_ "No such luck," Genesis said as he attacked Zack. "You are a monster." Sephiroth looked up and easily deflected his blast. Genesis gracefully landed behind Sephiroth and tilted his head as he observed his former friend. "Sephiroth, you were the greatest monster created by the Jenova project."_

_It was then that his obsession was born._

_

* * *

_

Vincent opened the door eventually and was greeted with the sounds of running footsteps. He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the stairs, relaxing when he saw Rude.

"Are the Turks not focusing on punctuality anymore?" Vincent asked dryly.

Rude smirked. "Oh, we are. But Reno's not a typical Turk. We have to get Cloud and Loz out of here now."

"Where's Sephiroth?" Vincent asked as they each hoisted one man over their shoulders.

"He is just at the entrance," Rude said. "But he is doing a zombie walk."

"What do you mean?" Vincent asked.

"He skewered Reno and tossed him aside and he was getting ready to fight me but then he just stopped," Rude said as he carefully made his way down the stairs with Loz. "His eyes glazed over and he's not moving…at least he wasn't when I came in here."

"We have to get back to Tifa and Reno," Vincent said.

* * *

Tifa peeked out of her hiding spot in the helicopter and narrowed her eyes. Sephiroth was still standing in the same spot he was when she and Reno gotten in the helicopter.

"Is he still playing The Stone Angel out there?" Reno asked with a tired smirk.

"Yep," she said with a sigh before turning to face him. She smiled slightly and poked him in the leg. "The Stone Angel, huh? I didn't know you read real books, Reno."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I couldn't get out of it in school, but I am a pro at avoiding reading stuff now!" He watched her for a moment and became serious. "I'm sorry we were late, Tifa."

She shrugged. "Men being late in my time of need? I'm used to it."

"I wanted to give you guys enough of a lead so we would catch up to you when you needed us," Reno said quietly. "Shinra's changing, Teef, I swear. But the wheels of change…"

"Move slowly," she finished for him.

He nodded. "I didn't want to have to hurt Spiky or Sideburns."

She smiled and squeezed his hand. "Thanks Reno. Are you getting all soft on me?"

He blushed slightly. "What? No way, babe!"

She laughed softly. "I thought not."

He was about to answer her when they heard a noise. Tifa cautiously leaned forward, but pulled back immediately. She slowly lifted Loz's gun. Reno's lips parted, but Tifa shook her head.

"Sephiroth is looking in the window," she whispered.

Reno lifted his gun as well and pushed himself into a seated position. All they could do was wait.

* * *

The memory faded and suddenly he was again aware of his surroundings. _I guess the remnant _didn't_ absorb most of the…unpleasant memories_, Sephiroth thought to himself. A quick glance around confirmed Tifa and the Turks were gone, yet the helicopter was still there. The red head was injured enough that he knew they wouldn't have taken him by foot. The other Turk must have gone to find Vincent…and that left Tifa. Did she go with him or did she stay behind to protect the wounded Turk? He smirked as he walked towards the helicopter. She is far too caring to leave even a no good Turk behind for him to dismember.

He tightened his grip on his Masamune and approached the Shinra vehicle. He could smell the Turk's blood and it was getting stronger the closer he got to the helicopter. He smirked as he looked in the window. He couldn't see any movement, but this was a Shinra vehicle, so that told him there were most likely plenty of hidden places in it. He moved to open the door when he heard movement behind him.

"Sephiroth!"

He turned and glared at the two Turks facing him. He smiled coldly as he turned his glare to Vincent.

"It's good to see you again," he called.

"Don't move," Rude said as he cocked his gun.

"I would like to stay and fight, but I have a lot of catching up to do with some old friends," Sephiroth said as single black wing burst from his back. He effortlessly jumped into the air leaving Rude and Vincent to stare.

"The President isn't gonna like this," Rude said.

"Some things never change," Vincent said. "We need to return to Healen so the doctors can tell us what's wrong with Cloud and Loz."

Tifa opened the door to the helicopter and helped them load Loz and Cloud into the back before Rude and Vincent entered the cockpit. Rude looked at Vincent doubtfully.

"You sure you know how to fly this thing?" he asked.

Vincent looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "I was flying these before you were old enough to drive."

Rude smirked. "Alright, then let's get on our way. I'll call the director."

They both put on their headsets and Vincent started the engines while Rude called in.

"Rude? Where are you?" Elena asked. "The President is gonna loose his shit soon if you don't have good news."

Rude grimaced. "Well, you better get ready for the shit storm. We found them at the Mount Nibel reactor. Cloud and Loz are down and we don't know how bad it is. We're heading back to Healen now. Tifa has a few minor injuries and Reno is down."

"What about Sephiroth?" she asked breathlessly.

"Sephiroth is back and he just took off," Rude said as he hung his head. "Sephiroth has revenge on his mind, so have the Director initiate security protocol alpha and meet us at Healen."

"You got it Rude," she said before the line went dead.

Tifa noticed the paleness of Reno's skin at the mention of the president waiting at Healen for them. She reached out and took his hand. "You okay?"

"Sure," he said with a humorless chuckle. "Living is overrated."


	20. Return To Healen

Author's Note: Thanks again to my reviewers! I hope as we approach the end that it's still as good as it was at the beginning. :D And please excuse my grammar in Chapter 18. I was re-reading it and noticed more mistakes/missing words than usual! I will fix it (eventually) and repost!

Shout-out to Shreddie J! Thanks for the continued support. You rock! ;) And SakR9, I'm so glad you're still reading it! I love your reviews.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Reno came to and found himself in a sterile white room, the memories of their return a blur to him. He raised his hand and touched the now bandaged wound on his right shoulder and winced.

"So you are awake," Rufus said, drawing the Turk's attention to him.

"Mr. President?" Reno asked, not quite ready for this particular confrontation.

"I have Rude's report," Rufus said staring at him with his cold icy blue eyes. "It was quite thorough, except for the timing. Perhaps _you_ would like to clarify it."

Reno sighed, ready for his punishment. "I convinced Rude to search Edge and the Wastelands before going to the Forgotten City, even if it was redundant. It's my fault we didn't get to Nibelheim in time."  
Rufus nodded. "I figured as much. How did you acquire your injury?"

"I was protecting Tifa," Reno said a little more defensively than he had intended.

Rufus raised an eyebrow at Reno's tone. "You let yourself get impaled for an AVALANCHE member?"

"A _former_ AVALANCHE member," Reno corrected.

Rufus smirked slightly. "Yes, that's right. Your behavior in this matter disappoints me Reno and borders on insubordination. You deliberately ignored my orders and did as you wanted and now we have a madman on the loose because of it."

Reno lowered his eyes. "Yes sir."

Rufus' expression softened minutely. "And you will be punished…after you have had a chance to heal." Reno looked at him quizzically and Rufus pushed himself to his feet. "Even though the wheels of change move slowly in Shinra, this is one area that I can make changes immediately. No torture or death waits for you Reno."

Reno breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the young president leave him to rest.

* * *

Tifa looked up when Rufus entered the observation room outside Cloud and Loz's room. She got to her feet, ready to throw herself at his feet and beg for mercy on Reno's behalf, but as if he knew what she was prepared to do, Rufus held up his hand to stop her.

"I know you're worried for Reno, but don't be," he said. "He's going to make it and he's not going to die anytime soon."

"I'm sorry he disobeyed you and I know he did it on our behalf," Tifa said, still feeling like she should at least apologize.

"There's nothing we can do now," Rufus said. "Tseng said Rude initiated a security protocol of the highest level, which means I myself am in danger. Perhaps you can clue me in, Miss Lockheart."  
"Sephiroth wants to destroy everyone from his past who had a hand in creating him and I think he wants to start with you," she said.

"You would think he would want to start with the man that sent him to the Lifestream…twice," Rufus said with a smirk.

Tifa glanced at Cloud and Loz. "Neither of them poses any threat to him right now. So I guess that makes you number one, Mr. President."

"That's ironic," he said. "The one time I don't want to be number one, I am."

Tifa smiled slightly. "It's also ironic that the man who once tried to have me executed is now trying to make me laugh."

"You noticed," he said with a small smile. "Despite out mutually unpleasant past, you are safe with us," he assured her.

"Well, as safe as any of us can be," Tifa said.

Rufus nodded. "If Sephiroth kills me, Tseng understands that you are to be protected as well."

"Thank you," Tifa said.

"Mr. President?"

They both turned when the doctor entered the room. Rufus stepped forward and nodded.

"What have you found out?" he asked.

"Their cerebral activity is off the charts," the doctor said. "I think it must be from whatever process Sephiroth used to bring himself back into existence."

"Will they be okay?" Tifa asked.

The doctor nodded. "Yes, but I can't say for certain when."

"Why not?" Rufus asked.

The doctor swallowed nervously. "Well, the Jenova cells in them are a big part of their genetic makeup now and whatever Sephiroth did to become flesh and blood drained whatever power was in them. To put it into simpler terms, the cells are burned out and I don't know how long it will take for them to regenerate."

"So they may be stuck in that agony they're suffering with forever?" Tifa asked quietly.

The doctor looked at Rufus before reluctantly looking at Tifa and nodding. "I'm afraid so."

She looked down before nodding. She turned her head and looked at Rufus. "Could I go see them?"

Rufus nodded. "It may help them both to know you're okay."

Tifa nodded and slowly entered the room where they were laying. There were beside each other in separate beds with monitors hooked up to them and recording all their stats as they slept. The nurse looked up and smiled kindly at Tifa.

"We just gave them something for the pain," she said. "So, they'll most likely be out of it for a while."

Tifa smiled and nodded. "Thank you." Once she was alone, she pulled a chair in between the two beds and sadly looked at the two most significant men in her life. First she picked up Cloud's hand and gently squeezed it. "I have loved you most of my life, Cloud Strife. You are my best friend. True, you could have actually been there for _me_ every once and a while but, you still mean a lot to me. You have been through too much and you deserve better than this." She sighed and turned her head to face Loz. "And you, Loz, hold my heart. I couldn't have asked for a better protector for it. And I know you find this hard to believe, but in spite of everything you've done and who you're a part of, I care about you. In fact…I love you. You hear me in there? I love you, so don't you _dare_ leave me. I couldn't bear it if I lost you."

The nurse returned and smiled sympathetically. "I'm sorry, Miss Lockheart, but I have to do a few tests so I'll need you to step out if you don't mind please?"

Tifa nodded before getting to her feet. She leaned over and kissed Cloud on the cheek before turning to Loz and kissing him on the cheek as well. She smiled at the nurse and left the room. As she shut the door, she frowned when she heard voices arguing. She hurried down the hall and found Tseng, Rufus, the doctor she had just spoken to, an unfamiliar man to her, and Vincent facing each other.

"What's going on in here?" Tifa asked.

Rufus turned and looked at her. "We are arguing about the treatment plan for Cloud and Loz."

"There's a plan?" Tifa asked, her hopes beginning to rise.

"Tifa, it's a dangerous plan," Vincent cautioned.

Tifa frowned slightly. "How dangerous?"

"My name is Professor Sonji," the unfamiliar man said. "I am one of Shinra's project leaders and I have studied the experiments of Professor Hollander and Professor Hojo regarding the Jenova Project. It is my theory that if we treat both subjects with the mako protocol used on SOLDIER recruits in the past, we can revitalize the Jenova cells in both men, giving them their strength back."

"My concern is what it will do to both men," the doctor said as he glared at Sonji. "This isn't the old days, Professor. You can't just go experimenting on innocent victims based on an untested theory like that sadist Hojo!" The doctor seemed to realize Rufus was still there and he felt his skin become flushed at his talking out of turn in front of the president. "No disrespect intended, President Shinra."

Rufus smirked and flipped his bangs out of his face. "None taken. Shinra _did_ experiment on unwilling subjects and Hojo _was_ a sadist."

The doctor, now confident in his position, turned his glare back to Sonji. "If we don't allow them the time to heal naturally, the introduction of the mako may overload their systems and kill them."

"Well, we don't have a lot of time, Doctor," Sonji said condescendingly.

"There is something else to consider," Vincent said, finally speaking up. "We don't know if reactivating the Jenova cells will give Sephiroth power over them again. If he is still connected to them in some way, who knows what he would be capable of. We don't even know how he regained his corporeal form."

"The team we sent to the reactor said that there were still some remains of Jenova's body in the chamber," Tseng said as he turned to see Rufus' reaction to the discovery.

"I thought Hojo had taken her remains after collecting Cloud and Zack for his next set of experiments after Sephiroth disappeared with Jenova's head," Rufus said with a frown.

"His notes indicated he had purposely left some in case further experimentation was needed behind Shinra's back," Vincent said. He frowned slightly. "Cloud was with me when I found that information. That could be how Sephiroth knew he would definitely have access to additional Jenova cells and what actually pushed him to act."

"With the additional cells, he could have absorbed them into Cloud's and Loz's body to react with their cells and instead of taking their bodies as his own, he pushed himself out and created a new body!" Sonji said, excitement tingeing his voice. "That is fantastic!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes and glared at the professor. "This is _not_ fantastic, Professor. We have a madman on the loose and he wants to destroy us all. And why was the existence of Jenova remains not brought to my attention?"

Sonji smirked arrogantly. "Science is not your field Mr. President. It was the _expert_ opinion of the science division to make it _policy_ that information regarding the existence of Jenova cells was to be kept on a need-to-know basis for only a select few."

Rufus narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to him. "I have already spared one man from death for his insubordination today, Sonji. And it is _my_ policy to show mercy to one arrogant employee per day. So I would watch my step, because I have reached my limit for tolerating my staff and their insistence on being secretive at the expense of this planet and her inhabitants. Do you understand me?"

It was quite something for Tifa to watch Rufus cut even the most arrogant of men down to size with just his words. The all-too-pleased-with-himself scientist was now pale and drained of his superiority-induced arrogance with the threat of death hanging over his head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. President," Sonji said quietly. "I was merely trying to explain the policy of the…"

"Consider that policy scrapped," Rufus said before turning to look at the doctor. "We don't have a lot of options. Can we ensure their safety?"

The doctor frowned. "If the mako is introduced slowly enough, we should be able to prevent the men from going into shock, but again, I can't say for sure that even if the mako is done slowly that it won't kill them. They're both very weak but, if the decision is made, we could be ready to start the procedure in half an hour."

Everyone turned to face Tifa. Vincent stepped forward and gently touched her shoulder.

"Cloud considered you his next of kin," he said gently. "So the decision is up to you."

"And because Loz is a part of Sephiroth, he is considered Shinra property," Rufus said as he stepped closer. "So that decision is mine. However, I will defer to you in this matter because you know him better than I do and would probably have a better idea as to what he would want."

Tifa looked at the two men before helplessly. "I just don't know."  
The doctor stepped forward and smiled gently. "I can wake them for a few moments if you want to speak with them about this."

Tifa nodded and followed the doctor out of the room, back towards the room the two men shared. She watched the doctor approach Cloud first and push a needle into his IV line. He turned and looked at her.

"You'll have a few minutes, but the pain may cause him to lose consciousness," he said.

She nodded and quickly took Cloud's hand in hers and squeezed it as he began to groan. His eyes fluttered open and he looked at Tifa.

"You're alright?" he croaked.

She nodded and smiled. "Thanks to Reno, of all people."

"He just wants to sleep with you," he teased weakly.

She laughed softly. "That sounds like Reno. Cloud, Sephiroth drained the energy in your Jenova cells and that's why you're so weak and in pain. They want to try re-energizing them with a mako protocol, kind of like what they did to SOLDIER recruits. It may work, but we don't know if it will kill you or give Sephiroth power over you. It's our only hope right now, but if you say no, then we won't do it."  
Cloud's brows drew together as a wave of pain and nausea hit him. He shuddered as he waited for it to pass before looking at Tifa. "Tell them to do it, Tifa."

She nodded as she watched him slip into unconsciousness. She turned and watched the doctor inject Loz's IV line with the same serum. She released Cloud's hand and moved towards Loz. She lifted his hand in hers and sat beside him on the bed, gently caressing his cheek as he began to come around. When he laid his eyes on her, relief flooded his eyes.

"Sephiroth didn't hurt you, did he?" he asked, pain making his voice crack.

She smiled and shook her head. "Just a few scratches, but other than that, he didn't get a chance to."

"Good," Loz murmured. "His thoughts are confused…but they're evil too."

"Listen, whatever he did to you and Cloud drained your Jenova cells and that's why you feel so awful. They want to give you a mako treatment that could re-energize the cells so you can regain your strength. But it could kill you. What do you want to do?"

Loz smirked through the pain as he looked at her. "Sephiroth wants me dead, so either way, my chances ain't great. Do it, Tifa. Have them give me the treatment."

* * *

Tifa found the men waiting in the room she had left them in. They all turned and looked at her expectantly as she walked in.

"What did they say?" Rufus asked.

She raised her eyes to his and nodded. "They both want you to do it."

Professor Sonji nodded, the arrogance still nowhere to be found on his face anymore. "I will make the necessary arrangements."

"I thought Cloud's moody, self-hatred was rubbing off on Loz," Tifa said dryly as she looked at Vincent. "But apparently it's his hero complex that's rubbing off on him."

"Tifa, I'm going back to Nibelheim," Vincent said quietly.

She looked up at him in surprise. "Why?"

"I'm going to see if I can find Sephiroth," Vincent answered. "We don't know if Cloud and Loz will survive this mako treatment and if they don't, we still need to stop him."

Tseng stepped forward. "We will protect you while he is gone."

Tifa nodded. "Be careful Vincent."

He inclined his head before walking out of the room. Even surrounded by Shinra employees, Turks, and Rufus, Tifa was beginning to feel alone. She turned and looked up at Rufus.

"Can I be with them when they're receiving the mako treatment?" she asked.

Tseng stepped forward and touched her shoulder. "The treatment is quite painful and won't be pleasant to watch, Miss Lockheart. It's best you don't witness it."

Tifa nodded and moved to the overstuffed chairs that lined the room. She put a hand to her head and sighed. "When will it all end?"

Rufus sat beside her and stared at the ceiling. "I've been asking myself that same questions for months. I've been trying to turn this company around and I thought I was making real progress, but when your own employees keep something like the existence of more Jenova body parts from you, you tend to question whether the control you had was ever even real or if it was all just an elaborate illusion. I'm starting to realize that even though I'm trying to change Shinra's future, nothing I do can change Shinra's past. And unfortunately, Sephiroth is the embodiment of our past."

Tifa nodded and rested her head on the back of the chair. "He's a nightmare that just won't go away."

"I do feel for him in a way," Rufus murmured. He chuckled when Tifa looked at him with her mouth hanging open. "Can you imagine what would have happened if _you_ found out that you were basically the creation of a madman and a creation for death and destruction at that? He was tormented with constant experimentation throughout his childhood, by his _father_ no less. My father was no shining example of parenthood, so I know what it's like to have a parent to whom you mean nothing more than a status symbol, or in Sephiroth's case, a scientific achievement."

"Well, I don't see _you_ burning down towns and trying to bring Meteor down upon us and _you_ seem to know you were created by a monster to _be_ a monster," Tifa said dryly.

Rufus glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "But I willfully allowed my company to ravage the planet and destroyed anyone who tried to stop me."

Tifa snorted softly and yawned. "Are you _trying_ to convince me you're a monster?"

He smirked and shook his head. "No. I don't think I could take having you as my enemy once more. You were a determined force to be reckoned with before. I'm just talking, trying to work out Sephiroth's motivation. Unfortunately, there is nothing that can undo his pain."

"Pain, huh?" Tifa murmured. "I never thought of it like that. Somewhere along the way his pain turned into anger and then that anger became hatred. Now all that's left is madness."

"A madness that will never end," Rufus concluded.

"This is depressing," Tifa said as she closed her eyes.

"Get some rest Miss Lockheart," Rufus said as he got to his feet. "Tseng and Elena will keep watch over you. Once the procedure's done, I'll come back for you."

Tifa nodded and curled up on the wide chair, closing her eyes with a sigh. She wanted to sleep, but her nightmares kept her from any deep sleep, because instead of being able to shed them when she woke, she knew that her nightmare was now on the loose.

* * *

Sephiroth looked around the basement laboratory. It was exactly as he remembered it. Nothing seemed out of place. He trailed his fingers along the desk before running his eyes along the shelves with countless scientific and medical journals. The des was littered with reports and Sephiroth smirked.

"No matter how much you read, you'll never find a weakness," he said to himself. "Hojo was too thorough in his creation. And it's a creation never to be repeated."


	21. United Front

Author's Note: I have struggled with keeping Sephiroth as close to in character as possible and I'm pretty sure I have failed miserably, so I have decided to say 'screw it' and just write him how my muse directs me to. :D I hope everyone enjoys the chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 21**

_Are we back here again Cloud?_ Zack asked with a smile in voice.

"Zack?" Cloud asked as his eyes narrowed, the bright light making him squint.

_Things are always tough with you aren't they?_ Zack said teasingly. _Gaia forbid you do anything the easy way. Sephiroth's on the loose and all you have is a remnant of him and yourself. Man, are you in trouble!_

"I don't know if I can do this," Cloud said. "I've faced him so many times before, but this is different."

_I know it seems hopeless, but it's not,_ Zack said as he offered his friend a hand. _This time you have help from someone that's still there in that world with you. He may seem like the enemy, Cloud, but you know better."_

Cloud nodded as he got to his feet and faced his friend. "I know."

_Then what are we waiting for?_ Zack asked with a smile. _Let's go find him._

_

* * *

_

_Did you hear that?_ Kadaj asked with a smile in his voice.

Yazoo laughed softly. _It seems our brother has found someone to love…and who loves him in return._

Loz squinted against the light. "Kadaj? Yazoo? Didn't it work? Did I die?"

_No,_ Kadaj answered. _Not yet anyway. You still have a great battle to fight and you need all the help you can get!_

Loz's face brightened slightly. "Are you and Yazoo going to come back and help me?"

_We can't come back, Loz,_ Yazoo said softly. _But you have big brother._

"He hates it when I call him that," Loz said as he made a face. "And sometimes I think he hates me. And I totally get it, but damn! I just wish he'd make up his mind."

_That's just because he spends too much time…what does you girlfriend call it?_ Kadaj asked.

"Dilly-dallying," Cloud said.

Loz faced him. "They said we're not dead."

Cloud nodded. "We're not. This is a place where people in our lives who have reached The Promised Land can come to talk to us when we need help."

Loz looked past Cloud and pointed to Zack. "Who's that guy?"

"This is my friend, Zack," Cloud said. "He's the one I told you about. I assume your brothers are here."

Loz turned and was happy to see both of them materialize in front of him. Until then, they had always been out of sight. Now that they had appeared, Loz hugged each of them in relief.

_Don't cry, Loz,_ Yazoo teased lightly.

_I see the family resemblance,_ Zack said with a smile.

_We have all been puppets of Sephiroth at one time,_ Kadaj said as he stepped closer to Cloud. _And we have all paid a great price for our part in his plans, either willingly or unwillingly._

_And you both have to trust each other,_ Zack said.

_We once called you brother, Cloud,_ Yazoo said. _You must both trust each other as though you really are brothers._

_ Sephiroth knows everything about you, now that he's been inside both of your minds,_ Zack said. _He'll know your fears, your joys, and your insecurities and he'll try to turn you both against each other._

Cloud nodded and stepped past Kadaj and moved closer to Loz. "We both love Tifa, but only one of us holds her heart. We are going to do this and we are not going to let Sephiroth stop us or hurt anyone we love ever again."

Loz nodded. "You're right, Cloud."

Cloud turned and looked at Zack. "You'll be there for back up, right?"

Zack smiled and nodded. _You betcha! I wouldn't miss a battle like this for anything._

_ "We'll _all_ be there,_ Yazoo said as he squeezed Loz's shoulder.

_But you two won't need us,_ Zack said with a wink. _You two are a lot stronger than you think._

Cloud turned and looked at Loz. "I think it's time for us to finally go back, Loz."

Loz smiled slightly when Cloud used his name for the first time. He nodded before facing the brightening light in front of them. "I can't wait!"

* * *

Tifa was jolted from her fitful sleep by the sound of screaming coming from the direction of Loz and Cloud's room. She jumped to her feet, but Elena grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back down to the chair she had just bolted from.

"It's the first treatment Tifa," she said. "Trust me, you don't want to go down there."

Tifa reluctantly nodded. "Okay."

Elena looked at her watch and sighed. "It will all be over soon."

"Hopefully I didn't just sign their death warrants," Tifa said as she rubbed her tired eyes.

Elena smiled sympathetically. "Cloud and Loz are both really strong Tifa and both of them want to stop Sephiroth at any cost. If anyone can survive the mako protocol, it's those two."

Tifa nodded. "You're right. I just hope we're in time. Sephiroth won't wait forever and he'll come for us all whether Cloud and Loz are ready to fight or not."

* * *

Sephiroth smirked as he sat on the edge of the desk in Hojo's study off his laboratory in the Shinra Mansion. He picked up a book and gently ran his finger over the title, Loveless. He set it aside and approached the fire in the hearth, which had been left cold for years.

"Genesis, I wonder if you ever truly found the comfort you sought in the pages of that book," he said as he crouched down and tossed more file folders into the raging fire. As he stared at the flames, his mind flashed back to the day he burned Nibelheim to the ground. "Did you know what you were unleashing that day when you told me what I was, or did you truly think I would turn to your cause?"

Sephiroth got to his feet and tossed more books and notes Hojo had kept into the fire. As he continued feeding the flames, he became aware that he was no longer alone. He cocked his head to the side, but didn't look away from the flames. Instead he chuckled softly.

"My puppets must not have healed yet," Sephiroth commented. "So Shinra sent its vampire to me instead."

"We've already read everything we need to so destroying the notes is pointless," Vincent said, ignoring his taunt.

"I'm doing this pathetic world a favor by destroying the work of a monster," Sephiroth said with a chuckle. "Ironic, isn't it?" He finally turned and looked at Vincent. "You can't stop me."

"I may not even need to try," Vincent said calmly as he emerged from the shadows.

"Ah, yes, your theory about my madness," Sephiroth said derisively. He turned and faced Vincent. "You and that puppet couldn't be more wrong."

"And what about the incident at the reactor?" Vincent asked. "You had wounded one Turk severely, out matched the one left standing, and then would only have Tifa left to fight…yet you froze."

"I created a body for myself out of practically nothing," Sephiroth said with a smirk. "It's a lot harder than I thought it would be. My memories overwhelmed my senses…but that was the point, wasn't it? Isn't that why you brought us all back here? Back to the beginning when I first learned of my true nature? You wanted to throw me off balance."

"You're thoughts are confused," Vincent said, making no attempt to get any closer to Sephiroth. "First you let Loz believe you would make his body your own. Then you told Cloud you were going to use him and Loz to create a new body, and then you told me that having two bodies is better than one. Where is the Sephiroth who knows what he's doing and can see ten steps in front of where he is? If that's not a sign of your mind degrading…"

"I am not degrading!" Sephiroth snapped. "I have a purpose and that is to avenge the wrongs committed against Mother!"

"You're mother was nothing like Jenova," Vincent said calmly. "The calamity that fell from the sky is just one part of you. Unfortunately she is a part of many. None suffered as greatly as you did, but there was suffering for all her 'children'."

"And I am the only one of her 'children' to do as she would want," he said as he slowly walked around the desk moving closer to Vincent. "The torture I suffered was _nothing_ compare to what they did to _her_. The least I could do is carry on where she left off and that is what I intend to do."

"We will stop you," Vincent said simply.

Sephiroth smirked. "Who will stop me? Rufus Shinra and his pathetic Turks? Maybe Cloud's little band of friends can stop me or maybe even the ever-vengeful Miss Lockheart? Or are you pinning all your hopes on my little puppets?"

"You have been stopped before, Sephiroth," Vincent countered. "What's different this time?"

"I know how to destroy you all from the inside out," he said with a smirk. "Everyone has at least one thing they cherish most and I have found the one thing each of you cherish most and before I destroy you, I will take it away from each and everyone of you, one by one."

Vincent pulled out his gun and pointed it at Sephiroth. "Sorry, Sephiroth, but Shinra already took what I cherished most from me a long time ago. So I guess I'll just have to deal with you right now."

The Masamune blade seemed to hum as Sephiroth pulled it from its sheath. "No matter what you have become at Hojo's hands, deep down inside you will always be a Turk: always thinking with your gun."

"Then you have nothing to fear," Vincent said with a shrug.

"I have outgrown fear, vampire," Sephiroth assured him.

The two men faced one another, staring the other one down, neither winning the battle of wills they were locked in. Both of them waited for the other to make a move and since neither man was willing to move first, they stood there deadlocked for what seemed like a lifetime. Vincent narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Sephiroth's eyes glow slightly before a sinister smirk curled around his lips.

Vincent cocked the gun and fired without a word.

* * *

Tifa sat up when Elena's phone ran. The blonde Turk flipped it open and held it to her ear.

"Elena here," she said. Her brows drew together and she nodded. "I'll tell them, Vincent."

"Did he find Sephiroth?" Tifa asked as the blonde ended the call.

Elena quickly dialed a number and looked at Tifa. "He found him." She held up a finger when her call was answered. "Mr. President, Vincent made contact with Sephiroth. That's a negative sir. Sephiroth is on his way here."

Tifa tensed as she got to her feet. Elena looked up at Tifa once she was finished her call.

"Tifa, the president wants you with him," Elena said.

"What about Cloud and Loz?" Tifa asked.

"Their mako treatments aren't done yet," she said. "Tseng is going to protect the president and they want you with them. Rude will stay with Cloud and Loz until they come around, and I have to protect Reno. They cast heal on him, but he's still a little out of it. We don't have a lot of time."

Tifa reluctantly followed Elena out of the room and down the hallway. Rufus was in a room not far from the waiting area Tifa had been sleeping in only moments ago. He turned when Tifa and Elena entered.

"It's only a matter of time before we have company, so you must hurry back to Reno," Rufus said to Elena.

"Yes sir," she said before hurrying out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Tifa turned and faced the president. "Where's Tseng?"

"Speaking with the team," Rufus answered. "Protecting Cloud and Loz are our main priority. Unfortunately for us, you and I are not as important right now."

"Well, there's a change," Tifa said dryly. "Rufus Shinra isn't the top priority and no one's been killed for it."  
He smirked. "I like you, Lockheart. Never one to hold her tongue, are you?"

She was about to say something when she turned her head slightly with frown. She listened to slow, heavy footsteps approaching the door. She and Rufus both watched the door as the handle turned slowly. Tifa quickly moved to the door and turned the lock as quietly as possible. When the door refused to yield from the other side, there was a loud bang against the wood that made Tifa jump. She turned and ran closer to Rufus.

"Is there a safe room in here or something?" she whispered.

"I hope you don't mind sitting on my lap," Rufus whispered back. "Because it was only built for one."

"I won't need to sit in your lap because you're the only getting in there," she said quietly.

"I can't leave you out here alone in the hands of a madman, Miss Lockheart," Rufus insisted with a frown.

"You can't die, Rufus," she said urgently. "Cloud and Loz need you to keep them alive. That creepy Sonji would toss them to the wolves to save his own ass! He's too much like Hojo for my comfort. If Sephiroth is on the other side of that door, he'll kill you and me and then they'll have no one!"

There was another loud bang on the door and Rufus reluctantly nodded. "Okay, Lockheart. But don't do anything stupid like try to fight him. If you get a chance, you run."

She nodded. "I will." She watched the president reluctantly open a wall that hid a door before slipping into the concealed room. Once she was alone, Tifa calmly moved over to the desk in the middle of the room and sat on top of it with her legs crossed underneath her. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was no longer alone…and that time ended too quickly as the door crashed into the room followed by an all-too familiar person.

"I came for the president," Sephiroth said as he stepped into the room. "But you'll do just as well. Where is Cloud?"

Tifa calmly raised an eyebrow. "Not here."

"This is quite a change," he said with a cruel smirk. "Not that long ago, you were cowering on the stairs of the reactor on the verge of tears. Now you are the picture of serenity as you face me once more. Tell me, why the change, Tifa?"

"Because you're going to kill me no matter what I do, so I've decided that you can kill me and _not_ get any of the information you want."

"Interesting choice," he said. "But who said I'm going to kill you?"

"The scar on my chest says you'll kill me in a heartbeat," she said with a shrug.

"Did the tender moment we shared the other night mean nothing to you?" he asked silkily.

Tifa froze. So it _had_ been him she had spoken to. She had been holding on to the hope that Loz just hadn't remembered waking up and talking to her. She swallowed her fear and disgust and forced herself to keep eye contact with him. "I'm surprised you didn't kill me as I slept."

He chuckled and stepped closer. "I considered it. But the idea of being pursued by a bloodthirsty Cloud was not appealing to me. I can handle a determined Cloud, but if I took you away before I had broken him, I would have created a monster, no pun intended."

"You've broken him now," Tifa said with a shrug. "So go ahead…kill me."

He smirked as he narrowed his eyes. "No…not yet. You see, I don't think you really understand how my connection to Cloud and Loz worked. I was with them even when they didn't sense it. They didn't always know when I was watching…and neither did you."

Tifa couldn't help the cringe that lightly shook her body and she could tell he had seen it too. "You can't fool me, Sephiroth. You don't want me. You're just trying to frighten me and provoke me into a pointless attack on you so you get the satisfaction of killing me in a fight, not just murdering me!"

"That's somewhat true," he admitted as he closed the distance between them and pressed the tip of his blade against her neck. "But it's been a while since I've touched another person, never mind an attractive woman. I saw it all, I heard it all, I even _felt_ it all…and I enjoyed it all so very much."

Tifa clenched her fists and glared angrily at Sephiroth. "You bastard!"

He grabbed her by the shirt and hauled her closer to him as he dropped the blade from her neck. "I think the scar adds a certain something to your appearance, Tifa. It certainly doesn't take away from anything."

"Sephiroth! Let her go!" Tseng said from the doorway.

Sephiroth shrugged. "If you insist." He pulled Tifa from the desk and threw her across the room towards Tseng, knocking them both out into the hallway.

Tifa jumped to her feet and pulled out Loz's gun blade. Tseng got to his feet beside her, pointing his gun at Sephiroth as well. Sephiroth slowly entered the hallway and took in the sight of them holding their weapons on him with a smirk.

"Where's the president, Turk?" Sephiroth asked.

Tseng looked at Tifa out of the corner of his eye. "He's supposed to be here. Miss Lockheart?"

She shrugged and kept her eyes on Sephiroth. "He's not available right now."

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Sephiroth asked amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Wouldn't you just love to know?" she said calmly.

"Don't come any closer, Sephiroth," Tseng warned.

"Or what? You'll shoot me?" he asked dryly. "Your vampire already did that and I'm just fine."

Tseng fired at Sephiroth, but Sephiroth easily deflected the shot and in an instant, his Masamune sliced down Tseng's chest, sending him to the ground. As he fell, Tifa flashed back to receiving that same injury all those years ago. She ran to Tseng and was about to kneel beside him, but he shook his head.

"Get out of here," he rasped as he held his wound with both hands and kept his eyes on Sephiroth.

Tifa turned and faced the silver-haired General, narrowing her angry eyes as she glared at him. She kept Loz's gun aimed at him as she slowly stepped backwards. He smirked as he slowly raised his left arm out beside him, pointed the blade at Tifa. He stepped over Tseng and kept moving towards her.

"I wanted to play nice with you Tifa," Sephiroth grinned. "That's what you and my remnant call it, isn't it? I wanted to play too, but killing you will achieve the same effect as any game we may play. I'll destroy my puppets by destroying you."

Tifa smiled coldly and fired the gun. To his credit, Sephiroth didn't even flinch or make a sound when the bullet tore through his left hand causing him to drop his blade. He just looked at her with glowing eyes and a malicious smile.

"You are going to regret that, Tifa Lockheart," he said with a calmness that belied his true rage.

Tifa saw the cold look of hate in his eyes and ran down the hall blindly. She had to get out of there, but she knew by attempting to disarm the monster chasing her had made her his sole focus for the time being. She knew he was getting closer…she could almost feel his breath on the back of her neck. She heard the sound of his single wing extending from his back and the sound of leather flapping in the breeze created by the sheer speed of his body through the air.

Even with her senses screaming that he was right behind her, she still gasped when she felt his hand grab her by the back of her neck and pull her against his chest. He looked down at her and smirked before roughly throwing her to the hard floor, Loz's gun falling from her hand at the same time. It was still within her reach, but as she moved to grab it, Sephiroth kicked it away from her before flipping her over so she was on her back. He crouched down over her in a way that reminded her of Loz and how he had straddled her after their first meeting and fight in the church. He partially pulled her off the ground and smirked arrogantly at her.

"This is very familiar, isn't?" he said softly, his breath fanning over her cheek as he spoke. "My remnant nearly killed you that day. Too bad that little girl stopped him. It would have made my job that much easier now if he had killed you then. But I can easily remedy that right now, Tifa."

Tifa glared up at him. "Do it, Sephiroth! Finish what you started in Nibelheim! I've been ready for this since the first time your blade split my flesh!"

"A fighter to the last," he said with admiration in his voice. "Too bad it was destined to end like this between us."

Tifa closed her eyes as he slowly lifted his blade and pressed it against her throat. She flinched when she heard a gun shot and her eyes flew open in time to see Sephiroth fall to the side, injured, but not mortally wounded. She pushed herself away from him as he put his glowing hand over his wound, casting cure immediately. She got to her feet and turned to continue running but stopped when she saw Loz slowly lowering his gun and Cloud standing beside him with his Fusion sword drawn. Loz was wearing the black leather suit he had been wearing when she had first laid eyes on him and Cloud was wearing his usual SOLDIER inspired gear. Their eyes were fierce with anger and glowed from the fresh infusion of mako energy.

"We got this one, Tifa," Cloud said as they both moved to stand in front of her.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time," Loz said with a smirk.

Sephiroth got to his feet and looked at them both. "As have I, remnant. Always a pleasure to see you, Cloud. You'll have to excuse, us Tifa. I have to tend to this and then you and I can finish our…discussion."

"Over my dead body," Loz growled.

Sephiroth grinned maliciously. "I certainly hope so."


	22. The Battle

Author's Note: This is it! The big battle! :D I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 22**

Cloud glared at his nemesis, his hatred for the ex-General burning in his eyes. "Sephiroth, it's time that we settle this…permanently."

"You say that so often, Cloud," Sephiroth said with a smirk. "But you never seem to be able to make it last."  
"This time I have help," Cloud said.

Sephiroth's gaze crossed over to his remnant. "I can see that. Loz, I created you from my strength and this is how you repay me?"

"I don't take orders from you anymore," Loz said with a smirk. "Didn't I prove that to you in the Forgotten City?"

Sephiroth smirked. "I seem to have forgotten that little exchange. Care to remind me of your power, remnant?"

"Gladly," Loz said as he held up his hand and adjusted his glove on his left hand. Without any warning he sped towards Sephiroth with his abnormal speed and seemed to almost glow as he moved.

Cloud turned to Tifa while Sephiroth was distracted. "Go help Tseng. Elena and Reno have a plan, but you need to help them."  
She nodded, her eyes still focused on Sephiroth and Loz. She turned her gaze back to Cloud quickly. "Cloud, please…"

The corner of his lips lifted slightly as he nodded. "Loz will be fine. We'll both be fine, so just go."

She nodded and turned running down the hall in opposite direction. Cloud turned and faced Sephiroth as he grabbed Loz by the neck and tossed him aside. He turned his glare on Cloud and smirked.

"Is this the best you can do?" Sephiroth taunted.

Loz jumped to his feet and shot Sephiroth in the back with a blast from his Dual Hound. Sephiroth turned and glared at his remnant.

"I'm in the middle of something," he snarled. "You'll just have to wait your turn!" He punctuated his remark with a hard head butt that even took Loz by surprise as he stumbled backwards. He shook his head and growled before running back to Sephiroth.

Cloud took the opportunity to attack as well. He leapt in the air and raised his fusion sword above his head. Without even turning, Sephiroth blocked his attack with his Masamune. He looked over his shoulder and smirked at Cloud while catching Loz by the throat.

"You must be losing your touch, Cloud," he said. "I heard you coming a mile away."

"I'll just have to try harder next time," Cloud said as he pulled his sword back and kicked at Sephiroth's blade, making him lose his grip on Loz.

Sephiroth abandoned Loz and focused on Cloud. He lifted his blade and brought it down on Cloud's sword, both men pushing, trying to make the other give up some ground. Loz watched the two men and decided they needed more room to fight. He charged his Dual Hound as he lifted his arm in the air and brought it down heavily to the ground causing the floor to rumble as a wave of energy sped towards Cloud and Sephiroth. Cloud saw it coming before Sephiroth and managed to get out of its way, while Sephiroth was thrown through the wall and out into the fresh air of Healen. Cloud and Loz both ran out of the building, chasing Sephiroth.

* * *

Tifa ran around the corner and found Tseng trying to cast cure on himself to at least be able to walk under his own power. Tifa quickly knelt beside him and took over casting cure for him.

"Thank you," he said huskily as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's not enough," Tifa said as she helped him to his feet. "We have to get you to the doctor. You'll need another cure and maybe even a potion."

They both stumbled as the building shook. Rufus came running down the hall and quickly ran to Tseng's other side and helped Tifa guide him towards the medical treatment rooms.

"What the hell was that?" Rufus asked. "And what the hell happened to you, Tseng?"

"Sephiroth slashed me," Tseng said, unhappy to admit he had been bested so easily by a man who was still not fully accustomed to having a body again.

"I think the shaking is Cloud and Loz fighting Sephiroth," Tifa added.

"They survived the mako treatment?" Rufus asked in surprise.

Tifa nodded. "Now they're fighting Sephiroth."

Rude saw them coming and immediately took Tseng's arm from Tifa. "Elena's looking for you Tifa."

Rufus nodded at her. "Go. We'll take it from here."

Tifa nodded and looked at Rude. "Where are they?"

"In the lab, just down the hall," Rude said as he jerked his chin in the direction of the lab.

Tifa hurried down the hall and found Elena and Reno hunched over a computer, lightly bickering with each other.

"I'm tellin' ya, it could work," Reno insisted.

"Like you could even know that, Reno," Elena said dismissively.

"You know, I'm a Turk too, babe," he said with a smirk. "And a higher ranked Turk than you. I didn't get this far by being a complete dumbass."

"What are you guys doing?" Tifa asked.

Reno's face lit up as he smiled a Tifa. "Hey, beautiful! I was just telling the youngling here that I think I have a plan."

"And I was telling him he's a dumbass," Elena said as she made a face.

Tifa squeezed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "You have a plan? What is it?"

Reno waved her over to where he and Elena were sitting. "The suppressants we used on Cloud and Loz to squelch the power of the Jenova cells are the answer! We could inject them into Sephiroth!"

"And I was just telling him that it won't matter," Elena said as she rolled her eyes. "Even if we can shut them down, we can't undo the damage they have done to him and his mental state. He's still going to be insane!"

Reno rolled his eyes and glared up at Elena. "And I was _trying_ to tell you, I know that! I was thinking that we'll be able to weaken him enough that Spiky and Sideburns could _really_ do some damage…like kill him."

"Reno…" Elena began, but stopped when Tifa smiled slightly.

"This might actually work," Tifa said softly before turning and hugging Reno. "Reno, I could kiss you!"

"I would not have a problem with that, babe," he said as he leaned back in his chair and winked at her.

Elena slapped him upside the head and shook her head. "Gods, you are such a pig."

"We should tell Rufus," Tifa said.

* * *

They all looked at the doctor and Professor Sonji expectantly as they looked at the data and talked quietly. Rufus got to his feet impatiently.

"Well?" he asked.

"It could work," the doctor said eventually. "I mean, we don't have a lot of data on Sephiroth, but in theory, the loss of the extra power the Jenova cells give him may open a small window for Cloud and Loz to injure him…possibly kill him."

"I disagree," Sonji cautioned. "Sephiroth is the perfect monster with almost no weakness."

"No wonder he such a big God complex," Reno scoffed. "Everyone's always telling him he's perfect."

"Even if it doesn't work, we have to try something," Rufus said, ignoring Reno.

"I must object," Sonji began.

Rufus turned his cold stare on him and narrowed his eyes, effectively shutting the other man up. "I am aware of the objections you're going to make because Hojo objected to any idea of testing his perfect creation for weaknesses. And let me remind you that you are already on thin ice with me, Sonji." He turned and looked at the Turks. "What is the best delivery method for our little gift for Sephiroth?"

"A syringe to the neck?" Elena suggested.

"Do _you_ want to get that close to Sephiroth?" Reno asked with a smirk. "He'd break you in half before you even uncapped the needle."

"How about a spray of some kind?" Rude said. "It would give a wide dispersal field."

"Proximity would be an issue again," Tseng said as a nurse cast a final cure on him and handed him a potion.

"I say a dart," Reno said with a shrug. "Instead of shooting him with our patented tranquilizers, we could fill a dart with the suppressant and shoot him without him even knowing we're there. Then Spiky and Sideburns can do their thing, yo."

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that."

They all turned and looked at Sonji. He quickly stepped out of the room and sealed the door, locking it behind him and disappearing down the hallway.

"He's heading to the cold room where we keep the suppressant," the doctor said as he turned to face Rufus.

Tifa shook her head and glared up at Rufus. "Is it like, a Shinra-wide policy to populate your science division with megalomaniacs with delusions of grandeur or what? What is he thinking? That Sephiroth will just say, 'gee, thanks for saving me. I'm not going to kill you'?"

"If that's what he thinks, we should just let him try that," Reno said before taking Tseng's gun from the holster he had removed before his treatment. He smirked and looked up at Rude. "I think it's time we show him the error of his ways, don't you, partner?"

Rude cocked his gun. "I think it's _way_ past time we educated him on some of _our_ policies."

They both chuckled and shot at the thick glass. With enough cracks in the surface, Reno was able to knock the glass out with one hard kick. They were out the door and down the hall before anyone else could even move.

* * *

Loz hit the ground with a thud. Frustrated with being bested again, he slammed his fist on the ground in anger before jumping to his feet and turning to face Cloud and Sephiroth. He snarled and ran towards Sephiroth and jolted him in the stomach with a blast from his Dual Hound, sending Sephiroth back a few steps.

Sephiroth glared at him. "You are an annoying little thing, Loz."  
Loz smirked and used in his enhanced speed to get past Sephiroth and give him another jolt of electricity from behind. The blast was stronger than he was expecting and stumbled falling to his knees. Sephiroth's face twisted in anger as he pushed himself to his feet and turned face Loz and Cloud, but they were ready for him this time. Cloud attacked with his blade and Sephiroth managed to block the attack, but Loz aimed a kick at him. He managed to block it as well, but Cloud and Loz had him on the defensive. Sephiroth was more comfortable being the one on the offensive. He blocked their kicks and Cloud's sword strikes while being careful to avoid Loz's charged pile driver. He managed to push them both away from him before jumping back out of the reach. The three men stood staring at one another, breathing heavily.

"This is taking much longer than I anticipated," Sephiroth admitted with a grin. He leapt into the air, preparing to attack them.

Cloud looked at Loz. "Can I get boost?"

Loz smirked and held out his arm. "You got it."

Cloud jumped onto Loz's forearm and was launched into the air. As he quickly approached Sephiroth, he separated two of his fusion swords. Once he and Sephiroth got closer to each other, their swords clashed repeatedly and quickly. Loz watched from the ground as they fought, impressed yet again by Cloud's skills as a fighter. After being on the receiving end of his talents, he was happy to just watch him attack someone else. Loz frowned slightly when he noticed Cloud beginning to get overwhelmed with the speed of Sephiroth's attacks with his Masamune. He snarled and leapt into the air.

Sephiroth lifted his blade, but was surprised when it was blocked by Loz's gun blade. Loz pushed Sephiroth back slightly before aiming and shooting at him. Sephiroth landed on the side of one of the many cliffs that made up the Healen landscape. He used his blade to slice off chunks of rocks, sending them hurtling towards Cloud and Loz. He smirked as the sheer number of falling objects overwhelmed the pair. They began to lose their momentum and started falling back towards the ground. He gracefully leapt in the air and landed a few feet from where the pair had landed. He picked up one of Cloud's swords that he had dropped when he had hit the ground and without some much as facial twitch, pinned Cloud to the ground with his Masamune in shoulder and Cloud's own sword in the other. He smirked down at him.

"Stay put, grunt," he taunted, bringing back the memory Cloud held of his failure to make SOLDIER. "My remnant and I have some unfinished business."

Loz was beginning to sit up when Sephiroth pushed him back down with a boot to his shoulder. Loz quickly twisted his body to get out from underneath the boot, but Sephiroth quickly kicked him in the stomach, winding him slightly.

"We shouldn't be fighting," Sephiroth said as he pressed his foot against Loz's throat. "If we work together, we can eliminate the only obstacle standing between you and the life you want with the woman you want."

Loz stopped struggling slightly. "You're lying."

Sephiroth smirked. "I want to make the people who kept mother from me and tormented her body through years of imprisonment and experiments. Cloud wants to stop me, so I have to stop him first."

"You want to kill Tifa and she did nothing to you!" Loz choked.

"She tried to stop me from finding mother," Sephiroth said coldly.

"You killed her father and burned down her town," Loz snapped. "She wanted vengeance, just like you do!"

A smirk curled around Sephiroth lips as he inclined his head. "He was trying to stop me as well. I would be willing to spare her if you join me. If you defeat me, that worthless puppet will eventually take her away from you. After all, you are just a remnant of a man she hates. I created you and one day, she will decide she can't even bear to _look_ at you, never mind let you touch her…and I _know_ how much you enjoy touching her."

Loz had been falling into the world that Sephiroth had been describing until that last moment. At the mention of his knowledge regarding how he felt about Tifa, Loz remembered that Sephiroth knew everything about him including his fear that Tifa would one day stop loving him because he was a part of Sephiroth. Loz narrowed his eyes and hooked his arm around Sephiroth's knees and flipped him. Instead of landing on his back, Sephiroth managed to land on his feet easily. Loz jumped to his feet and faced Sephiroth.

"You'll kill her the minute you get a chance!" Loz asserted.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and grinned maliciously. "Maybe not."

Loz's upper lip curled in a snarl before launching himself at Sephiroth. The men traded blows, easily blocking and matching the other's hits. Loz pushed him back towards the edge of the cliff side that Shinra's lodge was situated on, but Sephiroth again jumped in the air and landed behind Loz. He smirked and ran back towards Cloud. Cloud grunted when Sephiroth ripped his Masamune from his body before running back towards Loz. He pulled out his gun blade, but Sephiroth was too fast and knocked it from his hand, sending it sliding out of his reach. Loz was in a corner, trapped on the ledge with nowhere to go as Sephiroth raised his blade and brought it down. Loz just closed his eyes and put his hands out in front of him. He only opened them when he heard Sephiroth's blade hit metal. In his hands, Kadaj's double bladed katana rested easily.

_It's my gift to you, brother,_ Kadaj said.

Loz smiled, knowing his brother wasn't there, but having sent his blade to him, he felt a renewed sense to fight with everything he had in him. Sephiroth glared at the blade.

"So, all my remnants have abandoned me? That's too bad," he said before smirking. "I guess I'll just have to punish you three times over!"

* * *

Sonji opened the fridge where the medicines were kept. He found the vials containing the Jenova suppressants and began uncapping them before emptying them into the sink. He knew he had to work quickly. He couldn't let them destroy all of Hojo's hard work by killing his best creation!

"Stop right there," Reno ordered as he cocked his gun.

Sonji slowly raised his hands and turned to face the two Turks in the doorway. "You don't understand! Shinra needs its perfect SOLDIER! Sephiroth is our greatest achievement and asset, but that moron of a president just doesn't see that!"

"Did you just insult our boss?" Rude asked.

"I think that's an offence punishable by death, isn't it?" Reno asked with a smirk.

"Surely you understand my point," Sonji continued. "The Shinra Electric Company is a shadow of its former self! In the days of Hojo and Rufus's father, this company commanded an incredible army and we had this world where we wanted it! If Sephiroth survives, we can have that glory again!"

"Except for one problem, Professor," Reno said. "Your 'perfect creation' is completely bat-shit crazy! Ain't no one controlling him, yo!"

"If we had enough time, we could learn how to bring him back under control," Sonji argued. "We have Hojo's research at the mansion in Nibelheim. We could…"

"Sephiroth destroyed it all," Vincent said from the doorway.

"Big Red! I thought Sephiroth had managed to finally kill you, yo!" Reno said happily.

"I hate it when you call me Big Red, Reno," Vincent said as he moved to stand beside the two Turks. "Sephiroth burned all of Hojo's notes. I had hoped that doing so might indicate that he was having an internal struggle between the man he was and the monster he became, but no. He just didn't want any competition."

"All that research…gone?" Sonji said desperately. He lowered his hands and pulled out a hidden gun, aiming at the three men across from him. "You did this! You drove him to this!"

He cocked the gun, but before he could pull the trigger, Reno shot him the chest. He hurried over to where the Professor laid dying. He knelt closer to his ear.

"Consider that your pink slip, man," he said with a cold smirk.

Vincent looked at Rude. "And people think I'm cold."

Rude smirked. "They always underestimate the cute ones."

Reno gathered up the remaining vials of the Jenova suppressant and looked at Rude and Vincent. "We got what we came for."

* * *

Cloud groaned as he hit the ground once more, followed by Loz. He turned and looked at the remnant.

"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be," Cloud admitted.

Loz smirked. "He knows us too well."

"Are you two already finished?" Sephiroth taunted them. "I'm so disappointed."

Cloud glared at him over his shoulder. "I've had it with you, you smug bastard! I don't care if I die trying, but you are not getting any further than this! I'll stop you."

Sephiroth smiled as he watched Cloud grab his sword and run towards him. His smile grew when Loz too jumped to his feet and followed Cloud. He absorbed a ball of materia and used its power to push them both back with a powerful burst of energy. Both men flew back along the ground towards the edge of the cliff once more. Loz dug the charged Dual Hound into the ground to stop his momentum, grabbing Cloud's wrist in the process to prevent him from going over the edge as well. Cloud was dangling over the edge before Loz pulled him up, but as he pulling Cloud up, he grunted and let go as the Masamune pierced his right shoulder and pinned him to the rocky surface of the ground.

Cloud began slipping, but Loz managed to push through the pain of being impaled long enough to pull him to safety with his other arm. Loz looked over his shoulder and glared at Sephiroth, who just smirked down at them.

"I'm going to enjoy putting an end to both of you permanently!" he snarled.

"No!"

All three men were startled by the sound of a gun being fired…followed by Sephiroth falling to one knee in front of them. He looked down at his chest and put his hand on something wet. When he lifted his hand, he saw blood. He narrowed his eyes and quickly turned in the direction the gunshot had come from. He didn't know if he was angry, or impressed when he saw Tifa angrily lower Loz's smoking gun blade.

"Miss Lockheart, when will you ever learn?" he murmured as he pushed himself to his feet. "Obviously you forget your lessons easily, but I would be happy to keep reminding you of them."

He quickly pulled his blade from Loz's back and unfurled his long black wing before he leapt into the air. He gracefully landed in front of Tifa with a smirk on his lips. She quickly lifted the gun blade and fired, but Sephiroth easily grabbed the barrel and pointed it away from himself.

"Lesson One: I'm faster than you. Lesson Two: I'm stronger than you," he said as he pulled the blade from her hand and angrily tossed it away from him. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer to him. "And Lesson Three: I am the superior being on this planet," he said as he savagely backhanded her across the face, sending her to the ground. He bent over and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to her knees. "Now, on your knees. It's time to beg me for forgiveness."

Tifa glared up at him and shook her head as much as his grip on her hair would allow her. "I'll never beg you for _anything_, Sephiroth!"

He inclined his head and smiled maliciously. "Good." He raised his sword and prepared to bring it across her throat, but stopped when he felt a small prick in his neck. He reached up and felt a dart sticking out of his neck. He pulled it out and glared at the small dart. He turned and found Vincent behind him, lowering a small tranquilizer gun. "A tranquilizer? You must be desperate."

He tossed Tifa to the ground and fully turned to face Vincent, as well as Rufus and his Turks. He laughed softly as he raised his Masamune, but his confidence faded as an overwhelming feeling of dizziness swept him. He took a step to steady himself, but dropped to one knee. He glared up at Rufus. "What did you do to me?"

"We silenced 'mother'," he said with a smirk.

"Now's your chance yo!" Reno called to Cloud and Loz.

They both pushed themselves to their feet, Sephiroth doing the same as he turned to face Cloud and Loz. Loz rolled his neck and squared his shoulders before lowering into a crouch and using his enhanced speed, jumped behind Sephiroth and wrapped his arm around Sephiroth's neck. He nodded to Cloud who used almost the rest of his strength to summon all his power into one powerful omnislash strike. Sephiroth struggled against, Loz's grip, but with the Jenova cells depleted and Loz's newly mako-enhanced strength, he was unable to break free. As the blast from Cloud raced towards the two silver-haired men, Loz charged his Dual Hound with the maximum charge it could take and held it against Sephiroth's side.

"Say hello to Mother for me," he hissed with a smirk before hitting Sephiroth with the charge from his Dual Hound seconds before Cloud's attack hit him. He used his speed to get out of the way of the blast. He threw himself on top of Tifa to protect her as Sephiroth was thrown against the side of the building.

They got to their feet and ran to where Sephiroth had landed. His solitary wing twitched slightly as black feathers surrounded him and he focused on breathing. He looked up at the people surrounding him.

"I guess I am still human," he choked dryly as he spit a mouthful of blood to the side. He glared up at Cloud. "This will never be over between us Cloud."

"It's over, Sephiroth," he said as he stood on the other side of Tifa. "The Lifestream won't take you this time."

"I'll find a way," he murmured before coughing up more blood. He looked at the blood on his chest and looked up at them. "I never thought I would truly taste death…or that it would feel like this."

Cloud and Loz looked at each other before watching Sephiroth's eyes close partially as his head tilted to the side lifelessly. Cloud squeezed Tifa's hand and she sighed as she rested her head on Loz's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. They watched the doctor step closer and began checking his life signs. He sighed in relief and looked at Rufus.

"He's dead," the doctor said.

Rufus nodded. "Then we should take him back to headquarters to have his body destroyed. Cloud, Loz, go with the doctor to get fixed up, you too Tifa."

The trio tiredly and obediently went with the doctor to have their wounds tended to. Vincent narrowed his eyes as he watched Rufus stand near Sephiroth contemplatively. He stepped closer to him and folded his arms across his chest.

"Banish whatever thought you're having," Vincent said quietly without looking at Rufus.

Rufus turned and looked up at Vincent. "What thought is that, Valentine?"

Vincent finally looked at him. "Keeping him as you kept Jenova will only lead to more bad things, Rufus. Don't make the same mistake your father and Hojo made."

Rufus flipped his bangs out of his face and shook his head. "That's not what I was thinking," he said dismissively. "I was merely contemplating the best method of destroying his remains. Burying him would be out of the question, of course."

"Burn him," Vincent said. "Burn him until even his ashes have disintegrated."

"A Turk through and through, Vincent," Rufus said with a smirk. "We'll have him incinerated immediately."

Vincent looked at the president for a moment longer. "See that you do, because if Sephiroth comes back again, he will be coming for you, and you can't hide behind Cloud forever, Shinra."

Rufus just smirked and shook his head as he watched Vincent follow his friends into the lodge. Tseng approached him, warily watching Sephiroth's unmoving form.

"A helicopter will be here soon," he said. "Guards are holding Sonji's assistants in a secured location. What should we do with the professor's body?"

"Incinerate it too," Rufus said coldly. "They deserve each other. Bring Sonji's most senior team member here though. He or she will be well versed enough in Sephiroth's history to be able to warn us if Sephiroth is somehow regenerating."

"Yes sir," Tseng said before stepping over to Rude and Elena.

"Reno," Rufus called.

Reno nervous looked up and slowly approached Rufus. "Uh, yeah, boss?"

Rufus turned and looked at him. "We're still not finished. Be in my office tomorrow at nine in the morning, sharp. We'll discuss the consequences of your actions then."

Reno swallowed nervously and nodded. Once Rufus had moved further away, he let out the breath he had been holding. "Damn. I was hoping he had forgotten about that."

"Come on, partner," Rude said sympathetically. "Maybe once Tifa's fixed up, we can convince her to make you a stiff drink."  
"There ain't enough booze in Edge to make me unwind tonight, yo!" Reno said as he slumped his shoulders. "Man, Sephiroth is a bigger pain in the ass than Cloud or AVALANCHE _ever_ was!"

Rude's chuckle was overpowered by the sound of the Shinra helicopter hovering above them, preparing to land.


	23. War Wounds Mature

Author's Note: A quick little chapter with a sexy part :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 23**

"How does it feel?" a nurse asked Loz once she had fixed the puncture wound in his right shoulder.

Loz rotated his newly fixed arm and smiled at the nurse. "It feels good. Thanks."

"You're welcome," she said with a shy smile before turning and gathering up her tools.

Loz was confused by the look on the nurse's face, but shook it off when Tifa walked in and smiled at him. He happily jumped down from the table and met her before she got halfway across the room.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he gently touched the spot on her face where Sephiroth had backhanded her.

She nodded and smiled. "Sure. A little cure materia and I am as good as new. How are you feeling?"

"A little stiff, but I did get run through with a huge sword, so that's to be expected," he said dryly.

"Let me know if you need anything for any pain," the nurse said with a blush before leaving.

"Okay, what was that?" Loz asked quietly.

"What was what?" Tifa asked.

"That nurse got all weird and quiet when I thanked her and she turned pink, kind of like you do when I kiss you," he said with a frown. "Why did that happen? I didn't even touch her."

Tifa giggled softly and shook her. "I think she has a crush on you."

His eyes widened slightly. "What? Everyone hates me!"

"Well, now you're a hero," Tifa said. "Everybody loves a hero! Especially one as sexy as you!"

It was his turn to blush. "Oh…well. Okay."

She shook her head and smiled slightly before taking his hand in her. "You've got a lot to learn about women, Loz."

"You girls are so complicated!" he complained.

"Yeah, well so are you men," she countered with a smile.

"Hey," Cloud said as he poked his head around the corner. He smiled slightly and ventured further into the room. "You okay Tifa?"

"I'm fine," she said with smile. "How about you?"

"Very stiff, but that's no surprise," he said with a shrug, wincing slightly at the movement. "Damn, that stings. How about you, Loz?"

"Stiff too," he said as he rolled his shoulder again, trying to stretch the muscles.

Cloud sighed and looked at Loz. "You did good out there, Loz. You kicked ass and you didn't let Sephiroth get the best of you with his lies."

"It was tough, but when he said he _knew_ how I felt, it just reminded me that he only knew these things because he had spied on both of us so he could try and turn us against each other," Loz said.

"And thanks for saving me from the cliff too," Cloud said. "After all the crap Sephiroth was filling your head with, I wouldn't have been surprised if you had given in."

Loz shrugged. "I kind of like being my own man. It's hard but I like it. I like having a job, I like having friends, and I like just being normal. Sephiroth could never offer anything to me as good as that."

"Listen, I'm going to take off with Vincent," Cloud said. "We're going to make sure that Rufus _actually_ destroys Sephiroth's body and doesn't get any stupid ideas about keeping him for research. Will you two be okay to get back home?"

Tifa nodded. "We'll be fine."

Cloud nodded as well before hugging her. "I'll be home tomorrow, I promise."

"Be careful, Cloud," she said as she watched him walk out of the room. She turned and looked at Loz. "So, am I driving or are you?"

"I can drive," he said as he rotated his arm. "Besides, I like the way you hold on to me when I'm driving. "

She blushed slightly as she followed him out of the room. When they left the lodge, everyone was still standing around waiting for their transports to land. Reno smiled when he looked up and saw the two of them.

"Way to kick some ass, Sideburns," Reno said as he opened the door of the helicopter that had just landed. "I'll see you two lovebirds later!"

Cloud and Vincent both followed Reno and Rude into the helicopter before it lifted off and headed in the direction of Shinra's new headquarters. Rufus stepped towards Tifa and Loz as his own helicopter landed. He reached out a hand to Tifa.

"We may never truly be friends in the traditional sense of the word, Miss Lockheart, but I hope we can at least say we're no longer enemies?" he asked.

Tifa reluctantly took his hand. "Sure, but don't think this is a free pass, Mr. President. Our truce needs to be earned on a regular basis, got it?"

He smirked and inclined his head. "I can agree to that." He turned his glance to Loz. "You have earned your freedom from Shinra, Loz. You proved that you are a far cry from the creation we owned and named Sephiroth. You are your own man, so enjoy all that it entails."

Tifa raised her eyebrows as she watched Rufus turn and join his Turks in the back of the last helicopter before it lifted off the ground. She still didn't trust him, but for now she could let her suspicions rest until she had reason to believe otherwise. She was drawn from her thoughts when she felt Loz lightly grasp her hand in his.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

Home…the word sounded so right coming from the man beside her. She smiled and nodded. "I am more than ready."

* * *

Cloud entered the room as the technician closed the door of the incinerator on the silver-haired man. Vincent followed him in and kept his eyes on Rufus the entire time. Cloud also looked at Rufus.

"Is there anyway to see inside that thing?" he asked.

Rufus nodded and flipped open a metal viewing slot. "You can watch him burn into nothing through here, Cloud."

"You understand our…concerns, right?" Vincent asked.

Rufus nodded. "Shinra has done little to earn your trust so I expect there to be residual doubts. I would feel the same way if the situation was reversed."

Cloud silently watched his nightmare burn, thinking back to the fires that ravaged Nibelheim. "It's fitting he should be incinerated after what he did to my home."

"It's poetic justice indeed, Cloud," Rufus said. He turned to another technician and took Sephiroth's Masamune from him. He stepped closer to Cloud and offered it to him. "You deserve this trophy more than anyone, Cloud."

Cloud glared at the sword and lifted his eyes to meet Rufus' gaze. "I don't want that damn thing. It's caused my friends and me enough heartache. Just get rid of it."

"I'll take it back to the mansion with me and guard it always, Cloud," Vincent offered. He turned his glance to Rufus. "If for some reason this isn't enough to stop Sephiroth, he'll have to deal with me to obtain his blade again."

Rufus smiled and nodded. "That sounds like a good plan, though I think it will be difficult for even Sephiroth to escape this destruction."

"We'll see," Vincent murmured.

They all turned and watched as Sephiroth's ashes began to burn rapidly in the fire, quickly disintegrating the ex-SOLDIER general.

* * *

It felt like she hadn't seen the inside of her bar for years when she finally entered with Loz following behind her. She turned and locked the door behind her. She flipped on the lights and smiled at her gentle giant as he pulled down two stools off the top of the bar for the two of them.

"You want a drink?" she asked as she stepped behind the bar.

"I would _love_ a drink," he said as he rested his cheek on his hand. "The stronger the better."

She laughed softly as she pulled down a few colorful bottles of liquor. "Well they don't get stronger that my special Junon Sunrise. It's basically all booze, but when I combine it all together, presto! It looks like a Junon sunrise."

He lifted the glass and looked at the orange liquid at the bottom as it melted into pink in the middle, and then purple near the top. "I've never seen a sunrise before."

"Well, we'll just have to do that sometime," Tifa said as she picked up her own glass and moved around the bar to sit beside him. "Cloud and I used to do that in Nibelheim when we were younger. We'd sit on top of that big water tower in the middle of town and watch the stars fade as the sun came up."

Loz took a sip of the drink and smiled slightly. "That's got a punch. It's kind of weird to see something so pretty have a kick like that! Though, it makes sense for you to make a drink like that. You're beautiful and you kick ass like a burly guy. I had not been expecting that."

She smiled and nodded. "I seem to remember you laughing at the mere idea that I thought I could even put a scratch on you."

He smirked. "Yeah, I was kind of being arrogant, huh?"

"Just a little," she said as she winked at him.

He took another sip and was silent for a moment. Finally he turned and looked at her. "Can I ask you something?"

She took a sip of her drink and nodded. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

"When you came to see me and Cloud when we were first brought to Healen, you came and saw us," he said.

"I thought you two were out of it from the pain medication," Tifa said.

He shrugged, we were, but I heard you talking to me," he said as he blushed slightly. "And I heard you tell me…that you love me. Is that true?"

She smiled warmly and put her hand on his thigh. "Of course it's true, Loz. I don't know how it happened, but it happened."

"What about Cloud?" he asked. "I thought you loved him."

"I do love him," she said with a sigh. "All of this is so complicated. Cloud didn't just suffer physically because of Shinra he also had a lot of mental torture. He lived for a while thinking he was his friend and carried his memories of everything that happened before he died. It really messed him up and he wasn't capable of loving me the way that I wanted. I love him now because he's my friend and that is completely different from how I feel about you. My love for him is the same love I feel for my friends and my family. The love I hold for you is the special kind of love that lovers share."

He nodded. "I get it. It's a feeling you hold in your whole body, mind, and soul, right?"  
She nodded. "Yeah. Is that how you feel about me?"  
He smiled and nodded. "I want to hold you and protect you and do stuff for you. I want to make you happy and smile all the time."

She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. "You're a special man, Loz. And it turns out that you have so much more to offer the world than this crummy town gives you credit for."

He kissed the back of her hand and held it against his cheek. "I meant it when I said I don't care what anyone else here thinks…as long as I have you, that's all that matters."

She leaned in and kissed him again. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"I wasn't planning on leaving," he said with a smirk as he got to his feet. He took her hand and let her lead him up to her room.

Once she opened the door, they couldn't keep their hands off one another. He kissed her jaw and down her neck as she closed her eyes and pulled him closer to the bed. He reluctantly stepped back and just looked at her. She looked up at him and smiled slightly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"We're wearing the same clothes we were when we first met in that church," he said with a smirk. "I wanted to see you naked that day."

She smirked as well. "Well, I wanted to see what you looked like under all this leather too. Looks like we get to live out our previous fantasies, huh?"

He nodded as he reached for the zipper on her leather vest. He slowly slid it down until the two sides parted revealing her white tank top. He dropped the vest to the ground before slowly lifting her tank top over her head. She reached out and pulled his zipper down, but the straps that crossed his chest and back confused her, just as the fastening on her shorts and leather duster in the back confused him. They both looked at each other and laughed.

"Maybe it's a good thing we never got around to this the first time, huh?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded. "The mood would have left us before we even got started! Here, I'll unfasten my shorts and you deal with those straps."

"Deal," he said as he made short work of the fastenings. His leather top finally parted and he let it drop to the ground before working on his pants and boots.

By the time all their time consuming garments were gone, they were both naked, standing in front of each other. Loz was the first to move, grabbing her and pulling her tightly against his body. He ran his fingers through her hair as he kissed her, his hot mouth open against hers. She ran her tongue alone his bottom lip and he shivered at the movement.

"I love it when you do that," he said as he dragged his mouth from hers. He swung her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.

He set her down before coming down on top of her. He moved between her legs and she impatiently lifted her hips to meet his body. She moaned as he entered her in one fluid thrust. His range of physical expression of love amazed her as she reflected on all the times they had shared their bodies. The first time had been raw and passionate, the second time in the shower had been an exploration of what their bodies could do together, and the third time in the Shinra mansion had been tender…almost a goodbye if fate had decided to separate them. But this time was different yet again. It was hard, lustful, and quick. All their feelings and emotions heightened their awareness of the other's needs, making it easy for them to give each other the pleasure they were seeking. There was nothing pretty or flowery about their sex this time. It was all about giving and receiving pleasure.

As Tifa reached her second orgasm in a matter minutes, Loz reared up and wrapped his hands around the ironwork of her headboard and used his strength to pull his body harder and tighter against hers before finally sharing in her release. He shuddered before releasing the headboard and allowing himself to rest his weight on her momentarily so he could gently kiss her. She smiled up at him, breathing heavily as he rolled to the side and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his broad chest and smiled slightly.

"I love you, Loz," she whispered.

He smiled happily and closed his eyes. "I love you too, Tifa."


	24. A New Start

Author's Note: This is the second last chapter of this story guys, and I'm a little sad! :( I just have the epilogue to do and that will be the end! As always, I hope you enjoy reading this instalment!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Chapter 24**

Reno blew his red hair out of his eyes as Elena fussed with his jacket. He sighed and pushed her hands down. "Stop it, yo! He's not gonna _not_ punish me just because my jacket looks presentable."

"Sorry," she said quietly as she dropped to the sofa beside Rude. "I just don't want you to aggravate him by looking like your normal shabby self."

"You'll be fine," Rude assured him.

Reno snorted. "At least he said there's no death or torture waiting for me, but this _is_ Shinra, right? We have a long-ass track record for lying through our teeth." He saw Elena and Rude exchange concerned looks between them. "I was kidding! I'm sure Rufus wouldn't lie to me."

Rude cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Dude, don't scare me," Reno said nervously. He looked in a mirror by the waiting area and checked his appearance. "Shit! I look awful. Elena, help me with my tie!"

She jumped to her feet and went to work on tying his tie while he hastily tucked in his shirt. Once she was done with the tie and his shirt was tucked in, she quickly zipped up his jacket.

"Reno, the president is ready to see you," Tseng said as he stepped closer to the group. He leaned closer to Reno and whispered, "Lose the goggles."

"Huh?" Reno asked.

Elena stepped forward and plucked his glasses off of his forehead. "I'll hold on to these for you, Reno."

"Thanks, yo," he said. He straightened his shoulders and followed Tseng into Rufus' office. He swallowed nervously as the door closed behind him.

"Have a seat, Reno," Rufus said as he gestured to a chair facing him.

Reno did as he was told quickly. "Yes sir."

Rufus folded his hands in front of himself and rested them on the desk once Tseng had taken his seat beside Reno facing Rufus. "Reno, you have always been the kind of employee who likes to play things fast and loose with rules, regulations, and pretty much any assignment you're given. But you always get the job done. You have obviously impressed Tseng enough to allow you to continue on as his second in command and that's not an easy task. However, while you were once ruthless and cold, as is necessary for a Turk, you are now soft and let your emotions guide your actions. This is dangerous for Shinra and your co-workers, but it is also dangerous for you. This most recent assignment was a perfect case of your rebelliousness getting out of control. I gave you a simple order and you flat out ignored it and it nearly got you killed."

"Mr. President, with all due respect, there is no way, anyone could have stopped Sephiroth from appearing," Reno said. "No one knew about the Jenova cells Hojo had held onto, not even you. And I nearly got killed protecting someone who helped us defeat him and his remnants six months ago."  
"And that's the point," Rufus said. "It's supposed to be every man for himself in your line of work. What you should have done was allow Sephiroth to do what ever he had intended to do to Miss Lockheart and then catch him by surprise."

"You think I should have let him kill her or disfigure her, or whatever the hell other twisted thought he may have had instead of saving her?" Reno asked incredulously.

"If you were still a Turk in your mentality, you wouldn't have to ask that," Rufus said as he shook his head. "It has always been survival of the fittest and in the past you executed orders without question. Sector Seven is a perfect example of that."

Reno straightened himself in his chair and narrowed his eyes, no longer caring what the president decided to do to him. "Mr. President, when I dropped that plate, I killed thousands of people and if you think that can't touch a man, even a worthless Turk like me, you're wrong. After what I did, Cloud and Tifa had every right to tell us to shove it when we first told them about Sephiroth and his remnants."

"You're too soft now Reno," Rufus said.

"No, this company is behind the times," Reno said with a smirk. "We are the reason Sephiroth even existed! We nearly destroyed the planet. You say you want to make up for everything we've done, yet when I tried to do that by treating my friends like friends and not tools to accomplish success for the mighty Shinra Company, I'm getting punished. Turks are becoming obsolete in this new future you want to build. Let us change and we'll still be effective. No matter what we're told to do, you can bet your ass we'll do it perfectly every time!"

"But that's the problem," Rufus said, frustrated they seemed to be going around in circles. "You don't listen to orders, Reno. Even if you did it your own way, I knew it would get done, but you cut off all communications with us and we had no idea what the hell was going on out there. Your insubordination would have gotten you killed even just a few years ago. I said that wouldn't happen and it won't because you have been so effective at your job, but I can't let this go. So I'm going to fire you. Since I have to trust you not to go blabbing to all and sundry about what you know, don't prove my trust is misplaced."

"Sir, wouldn't a suspension be a better solution?" Tseng asked. "Reno made some errors on this assignment, but his record is spotless. Yes, he does things how he wants, but he has never previously refused to follow an order nor had to be written up. He's one of my best employees."

Rufus sighed and flipped his bangs out of his eyes. "Reno, you left me no other choice."

Reno sighed heavily. "Well, it sure beats getting killed. I don't regret a thing I did Mr. President. I'm just sorry I let you down. If you ever change your mind, I'll be around." He got to his feet and stretched out his hand. "It's been an honor to be a part of the Turks."  
Rufus got to his feet and shook his hand. "It's been an honor to have you Reno."

Tseng stood as well and shook Reno's hand. "Come on. We'll get your things and say good bye to the others."

Elena and Rude both jumped to their feet when the door opened. Reno smiled his brightest smile.

"At least I didn't get killed," he said. "I got canned."

Elena's face fell as she moved closer and hugged Reno. "That sucks. I'm going to miss you…you big jerk!"

Reno held her tightly. "I'm gonna miss you too, babe." He gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek before turning and facing Rude. "Looks like you get to do all my paperwork, buddy.

"What else is new, you slacker," Rude asked dryly before pulling him in for a hug. "I'll miss you."

"Nah, you'll see me when you guys come to Seventh Heaven," Reno said with a smirk. "I'll be the handsome drunk guy getting slapped by all the ladies."

"Come on, Reno," Tseng said reluctantly. "Let's clean out your desk."

"You got it, Mr. Director," Reno said with a mock salute. "I'll you guys tonight for my going away party at Seventh Heaven, right?"

Rude nodded. "We wouldn't miss it for the world."

* * *

Tifa yawned and stretched before rolling over and looking at the man beside her. She smiled as she looked at him laying on his stomach with his head half off the pillow and his mouth hanging open. He looked like a kid and that made her smile even more. She leaned closer and gently rubbed his back.

"Hey, Loz? It's time to get up," she said near his ear.

"I've had a really long couple of weeks," he mumbled without opening his eyes. "Can't I just sleep for another few days?"

Tifa laughed softly. "You wanted to live a normal life and in normal day-to-day life, you have to work to pay your bills."

His eyes slowly opened. "Fuck. That really sucks."  
"You have to stop talking to Reno," she said with a smirk. "You're starting to sound like him."

He rolled over on to his back and stared up at the ceiling. "Hey, this is the first time in a long time that I _know_ I'm all alone in my head."

Tifa smiled and propped her head on her hand. "Yeah? And how does that feel?"

"Awesome!" he said with a chuckle. "Suddenly, facing the day doesn't seem so bad."

"Then you better get a move on," Tifa said with a smile. "We are well into the day. It's almost eleven-thirty."

"Already? Damn. I'm going to shower then," he said as he forced himself to sit up. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips. "Love you."

She smiled. "I love you too."

He smiled and got to his feet, walking over to the small ensuite bathroom. Tifa followed his example and got to her feet as well. She pulled on her bathrobe and securely knotted the belt before venturing out into the hallway. She knocked on Cloud's door and when there was no answer, she quietly opened the door in case he was still sleeping. His bed was empty, but he had obviously slept in it. She closed the door and ventured down to the kitchen and found Cloud reading the morning paper. He looked up at her and smiled slightly.

"Morning, Tifa…or should I say afternoon?" he teased.

"Shut up, Chocobo Head," she teased back.

He smirked and got to his feet, depositing his dishes in the sink. "Listen, I have a few deliveries to make, but they're all within Midgar, so I should be back in a few hours. Yuffie's bringing the kids back today so I should get here right before they do. That'll be a nice surprise for them…having all three of us here when they get back."  
"Three of us?" she asked dumbly.

"Yeah," Cloud said with a nod. "You, me, and Loz. They both seem to like him and were both curious about whether he would be here or not. Do you think he can check in with Jake and be back here in time to meet the kids? They should be here around five or five-thirty"  
"Well, uh, yeah, I guess," she sputtered in surprise. "Cloud, are you okay with them getting close to Loz?"

Cloud smiled and nodded. "You know, with all the crap I gave you about him being a part of Sephiroth and saying he can't be trusted, I forgot something really important."

Tifa raised an eyebrow. "You did? What's that?"

"That you are not an idiot," he said sheepishly. "I was so busy being jealous, that I forgot that you had issues with him in the past too and if you had even the _slightest_ inkling that something wasn't right, there would be no way hell that you would let him near those kids…or you. I never give you enough credit and that's why I let you slip through my fingers. I didn't trust you with my feelings and that was stupid."

"So…you're okay with me and Loz being together?" she asked.

"I'm jealous as hell," he said seriously. "But that's my problem, not yours or his. If you're happy, then I'm happy."

Tifa got to her feet and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Cloud."

"For what?" he asked with a frown.

"For giving me back my friend," she said into his shoulder.

He smiled slightly and hugged her back. He looked over her head as they held each other. He saw Zack standing in the doorway smiling at them.

_You're the perfect living legacy, Cloud Strife_, he said as he pushed away from the door fame and headed towards the bright light leading to the Promised Land. He turned slightly and looked over his shoulder. _Try to not to mess up, though, okay?_

Cloud nodded slightly and smiled even more as the light faded with his friend's departure. He squeezed Tifa a little tighter before stepping back.

"I gotta get going if I want to beat the kids back here," he said. "Call me if you need anything."

She nodded and watched him walk out the door. She turned to wards the stairs as Loz jogged down them with his phone pressed to his ear.

"Yeah, I know man," Loz said before smirking. "Well, I'm just too badass. I have epic battles and then come to work. You should give me a raise. Yeah, well, it was worth a try. I'll be in soon." He snapped the phone shut and smiled at Tifa. "I'm going in for a few hours to do some estimates, but I shouldn't be gone too long though."

"Perfect," she said with smile. "Will you be back before five?"

"I should be," he said as he reached around her and grabbed an apple. "Why?"

"The kids are coming home and Cloud said they both asked about seeing you," she said with a smile.

"They did?" he asked with a slight smile. "Yeah, I'll make sure I'm back for them."

"Have a good day," Tifa said as she kissed him on the cheek.

"I will," he answered before walking out the same door Cloud had gone through only moments ago.

Tifa smiled to herself. _This is what I've always wanted and now that I have it, I can see it was totally worth the wait._

_

* * *

_

Tifa opened the door of the bar and put a sign up saying they were closed for the day and would reopen for business the next. The sun was stubbornly pushing through the clouds and she smiled as she watched the day-to-day activity of Edge pass her by. They had no idea how close they had all come to losing it all again. She sighed and was about to go in when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Closed? But where else can I go to celebrate?"

Tifa smiled and turned to face Reno, Rude, and Elena. "You guys are welcomed anytime. Come on in, the kids should be home soon"

"Ah, the rugrats are coming home?" Reno asked with a smile. "Then we have two things to celebrate!"

Tifa closed the door behind the Turks and smiled. "What are you celebrating today Reno? You didn't get slapped all day despite making a pass at everything with breasts?"

He laughed. "That too. What we're here to celebrate is the fact that I have the dubious honor of being the only Turk in Shinra history to be fired, not killed."

Tifa stopped smiling. "You got fired?"

Reno hopped up on the bar counter and nodded. "Yep."

"What for?" Tifa asked.

"For not going after Spiky and Sideburns, with the intention of containing them or disposing of them," Reno said with a shrug. "And for nearly getting killed by Sephy protecting you. So, you kinda owe me one babe."

Tifa raised her eyebrows. "And what do I owe you? A job?"  
Reno smirked and hopped off the bar. He swept her up in his arms before twisting and bending her over his arm in a low dip. "I was thinking a hot passionate kiss."

"Um, what's going on?" Loz asked with a smirk.

Reno looked up and had the sense to look nervous while Tifa smiled up at him.

"Nothing much," she said sweetly. "Reno got fired because he protected me from Sephiroth outside the reactor and he feels I owe him one. What was it you wanted me to pay you back with?"

"Um…tango lessons?" Reno said as he pulled her back to her feet and released her.

Loz nodded as he stepped closer to Reno until he had to look up slightly to maintain eye contact. "Dance lessons are one thing…kisses are another. So I'm glad you weren't looking for a kiss because we're friends and I would really hate to have to rearrange your face."

"Me? Looking for a kiss from a woman who is spoken for? That's not my style, yo!" Reno protested.

"Since when?" Elena asked with smile, making Rude chuckle.

"Traitors," Reno muttered.

Loz laughed softly before moving over to the bar and taking a seat. "Are the kids back yet?"

Tifa smiled and hugged Reno as he tried to recover his swagger. "Not yet."

"Am I late?" Cloud asked as he came in from the back.

Tifa nodded as she walked over and sat beside Loz. "Nope, you're early."

Cloud nodded and leaned on the bar before looking at the Turks. "What brings you guys by?"

"We're here to celebrate my becoming a member of normal society," Reno said with a smirk. "I got fired."

"Rufus fired you?" Cloud asked in surprise. He shook his head. "Some things never change."

"I did get off light," Reno said seriously. "Death was the most likely punishment I was facing, yo. Rufus can't be that bad if decided to just can my ass. Besides, he let you watch Sephy burn, didn't he? Back in the old days, I would be dead and Sephiroth would have been hidden somewhere for scientists to poke and prod at, just like his mommy."

"You've got a point," Cloud said.

"Anybody in here interested in a pair of slightly used, but adorable kids?" Yuffie called as she opened the door to the bar.

"Cloud! Tifa!" Marlene and Denzel cried in unison.

Tifa ran and hugged Tifa, while Denzel made a beeline for Cloud.

"Did you two have a good time?" Tifa asked.

"Yep," Marlene said with a smile before looking over at Loz. "Are you okay Loz?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yep. Good as new, short stuff."

"I'm not short," she said with a smile. "You're just a giant!" She let go of Tifa and walked over to Reno. "You kept your pinky swear."

He crouched down in front of her. "I told you I would."

She hugged and smiled. "Thank you for not hurting them."

He hugged her back. "No problem, little missy!" He got to his feet as she walked towards Cloud and looked at the two Turks. "Getting fired was so worth it, yo."

Elena hugged him. "Reno, you do have a heart!"

"Don't spread it around though," he said with a smirk. "I don't want the ladies to think I'm respectable!"

"Don't worry, they won't," Yuffie said dryly.

"Don't you have some materia to steal or something?" Reno asked sweetly.

"Why? Do you have any you want me to take off your hands?" she countered just as sweetly.

"Come on, Marlene!" Denzel said with a smile. "The faster we unpack, the faster we can come back down."

"Okay!" she said happily before grabbing her bag and following him.

"Alright, so this is a party, right?" Tifa asked with a smile. "Who wants a drink?"

* * *

A few hours later, Reno was feeling no pain, Yuffie was bouncing off the walls, describing a diplomatic mission her father was sending her on to Rude, Elena and Cloud, and the kids were asleep in one of the booths. Tifa smiled and shook her head. Both kids had insisted they weren't tired…even when they're eyelids were drooping. She tapped Loz on the shoulder and smiled.

"You want to help me take the kids up to bed?" she asked.

He nodded and finished the beer in his hand. "Sure."

Tifa scooped up Marlene and Loz gently pulled Denzel on to his back in a sloppy piggyback kind of way. They softly made their way up the stairs and into the room the kids shared. They gently deposited the kids in their beds and Loz watched as Tifa covered each child with their blankets before dropping a kiss on each of their foreheads. She turned off their light and joined Loz in the hall, closing the door behind them.

"So, is this what normal life is like?" he asked.

"Yep," she said with a smile.

He smiled. "I think I could get to like this."

Tifa took his hand in hers and they walked down the stairs to join the others. When they got back, the party was winding down.

"Thanks for giving us a place to party," Elena said. "Rude and I are heading out."

"We have an early day," Rude said.

"Okay," Tifa said with a smile. "See you guys around though, right?"

"Someone will have to keep tabs on Reno and this is most likely where we'll find him," Elena teased as she hugged the redhead. "Take care, you big jerk."

"You got it!" he said as he raised his hand in a mock salute.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Rude said before following Elena out the door.

"I gotta bounce, too," Yuffie said. "I promised my dad I would take the last train back to Wutai tonight. I'm trying to show him I can be responsible. I'll call you later Teef and then we can gossip!"

Tifa hugged Yuffie and nodded. "You got it!" Once the young ninja had left, Tifa turned and faced the boys. "I'm exhausted, so I am heading to bed. You guys can stay up as long as you want. And Reno, you are welcome to crash on the sofa if you want."

"Awesome! Hey, Spiky, hand me the vodka!" Reno said happily.

"Cloud, don't forget to lock the liquor up when you guys are done," Tifa said dryly. "He's already put a big dent in my stock!"

Cloud smirked and nodded. "You got it, Teef."

Tifa kissed Loz on the cheek. "Goodnight, Loz. I'll leave the light on for you."

"Thanks," he said, blushing slightly as Reno and Cloud watched the two of them with smirks on their faces.

Once Tifa was gone, Reno slapped Loz on the shoulder. "Way to go, man. You managed to become a hero and you got the girl in the end. Good job!"

Loz rolled his eyes and smirked. "Hero? Yeah, right. Cloud's the hero. I'm the big dumb sidekick."

"Whatever, man," Reno said. "You still got the girl, you lucky bastard!"

"If you're so in love with her, why didn't you ever make a move?" Loz asked.

"Are you kidding?" Reno asked. "She is too good for a no good Turk like me…well ex-Turk now. It's enough for me that she tolerates me after the shit I've done!"

"Tifa's put up with a lot from all of us," Cloud pointed out. "I ran away and abandoned her all the time, you blew up a sector, and you nearly creamed her in a church. We're lucky she still talks to us."

"We should do something for her," Reno said as he poured himself a shot. "But it has to be something just for her…something she doesn't have to share with anyone.

Loz smiled slightly. "Hey, I have an idea guys."

Cloud and Reno both looked at each other before looking at Loz. Reno swallowed his shot and raised an eyebrow.

"Whatcha thinking, Sideburns?" he asked.

"I'd rather show you what I'm thinking," he said cryptically. "Meet me at the shop tomorrow and we can discuss it then, okay?"

Cloud shrugged. "Sure."

Reno poured them all a shot and raised his glass. "To finally doing something for the woman who can put up with three of the most intense guys this planet has ever seen!"

* * *

Tseng walked into the president's office and stood before him. "You wanted to see me, Mr. President?"

Rufus got to his feet and nodded. "Tseng, we've known each other for a very long time and I trust you as I have trust no one else. I have a project that is very sensitive and I need someone who is able to keep it private. That means no one else but you is to know about it and it includes keeping this secret from the Turks."

Tseng frowned slightly, but nodded. "If it is to be top secret, then I can guarantee that it will remain top secret, if you trust me with the care of this secret, Mr. President."

Rufus smiled and nodded. "I knew I could trust you, Tseng. Follow me."

Tseng followed Rufus out of his office and down the hall to his private elevator. Tseng had been with the Shinra Electric company long enough to know that private elevators meant a ridiculously high security level…usually in the either the weapons division or the science division.

"May I ask if this is in relation to the weapons division, science division, or general research division?" Tseng asked, trying to mentally prepare himself for whatever the president was about to burden him with.

"The board and I have decided to combine the general research division and the science division and this project is the reason for that. In order to repair the damage done to this planet, we need the general research department working closely with our science division."

"And what is so top secret about helping the planet?" Tseng asked.

"In order to truly understand what has happened in Sephiroth's wake, we must learn everything we can about how Sephiroth was able to survive in the crystallized mako and how he was even able to survive in the Lifestream and create his remnants. Even knowing how he used the Jenova cells in Cloud and Loz could explain many things."

They stepped out of the elevator and walked into a large storage room filled with crates of untested weapons, failed experiments, and various research materials. A man in a white lab coat was waiting for them near a large crate where a few assistants were packing and checking the contents.

"Mr. President, it's good to see you," the professor said.

"Professor," Rufus said as he inclined his head. "This is The Director of my Turks, Tseng. Tseng, this is Professor Benjamin Howarth, the man in charge of this project."

"As you can see we're almost ready to put this specimen into storage," Professor Howarth said with a smile. "All the special precautions are in place, including the neural inhibiting band around the head."

Tseng took a deep breath when he moved to stand in front of the open crate and found himself staring up at Sephiroth in a tube not unlike Jenova's, his clothes removed and his single black wing wrapped around his body. He turned and looked at Rufus. "Mr. President, may I have a word?"

"Any concerns you have should be shared with Professor Howarth," Rufus said with smirk. "Please, speak your mind."

"This is a very bad idea, sir," Tseng said.

"Please, let me assure you that we have taken more precautions with this specimen that were not taken with the original Jenova projects," Professor Howarth said reassuringly. "The band on his head prevents him from reaching either Cloud Strife or the remnant mentally, so he can't hurt them or take over their bodies. And we're not trying to use his cells for anything or to create anything like him. We just want to find out why he was able to do certain things."

"Can't you use Loz or Cloud to figure out how the Jenova cells linked them to Sephiroth in the first place?" Tseng asked.

"Neither of them know of his continued existence. Besides, neither of them would consent to being test subjects," Rufus said. "And if Cloud were to find out we still have Sephiroth, he would know it wasn't Sephiroth he saw burn and he would break in here and destroy him, costing us any chance of better understand what happened."

"Maybe it would be best to let sleeping dogs lie, Mr. President," Tseng advised.

"This isn't what happened all those years ago under my father and Hojo's rule," Rufus said. "My objective is to keep him only incase our researchers need to harvest tissue samples from him. He can stay locked away for ever, never being brought out of that crate for all I care. But if we need his body for our research, I want to have it available…just in case."

"The fluid surrounding him has the Jenova cell suppressor infused with the preserving fluid," Professor Howarth added. "His body is receiving no mako energy either, so he can't regenerate the damage his body has suffered."

"Mr. President, I have made my objections known and if it still your decision to pursue this venture, then I will see to it that this project remain a secret," Tseng said. "However, remember that if he returns, he's coming after you and Cloud won't always be able to stop him."

Rufus smirked. "Consider me forewarned, Tseng. But I'm not worried. He's dead and we finally have him contained. There is no way for him to escape this time."

The three men all turned when one of the assistants gasped and dropped a scanner. Professor Howarth hurried over to her and gently touched her arm.

"Mariana, are you alright?" he asked with a frown.

She swallowed as she kept her eye on Sephiroth. "I just…I think he just smirked."

The three men stepped closer to the tube and looked at Sephiroth. His eyes were still closed, but there was a definite smirk on his lips. The professor and Tseng looked at each other and then at Rufus. Rufus had narrowed his eyes and was glaring at Sephiroth.

"I don't think so, Sephiroth," he muttered. "Increase the suppressor ratio and increase the power level on the neural inhibitor. There is no way I'm going to lose to Sephiroth once more. Tseng, stay with them until they're done with him. I have a board meeting."

Tseng nodded and watched Rufus disappear into the elevator before turning back to the professor. "I think it may be a good idea to check on him daily."

Professor Howarth nodded nervously as he eyed Sephiroth. "He wasn't smirking before, was he?"

Tseng shook his head. "He was not."

The professor nodded. "I didn't think so."

"I'm all done with the adjustments, Professor," Mariana said quietly.

"Then we should close this up and store him," Professor said, his nerves still rattled.

Tseng stoically watched the other two research assistants slide the covering plank into place, hiding Sephiroth from the world. A feeling of foreboding washed over him as Sephiroth's crate was loaded onto a dolly and wheeled towards the back of the vast warehouse.

Tseng shook his head and began to follow Professor Howarth and Mariana back to the elevator. "Nothing good can come of this," he muttered.


	25. Epilogue

Author's Note: Guys, it's the end! I'm very sad it's over, but I'm happy with how it turned out. If anyone would like to see a sequel and has some suggestions, leave a review or send me a message. I have an idea for a sequel, but nothing firm. :D Anyway, thanks for reading my first chaptered fic and the reviews and support made this a fun experience! Thanks guys! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am paid nothing, but I enjoy playing with FFVII's characters! :D

* * *

**Epilogue**

Tifa looked up when she heard the front door of the bar open and smiled when a familiar red head entered. He smiled when he saw her looking at him as he closed the door.

"Hey babe! What's shakin'?" Reno asked as he made his way over to the bar.

"Not much," Tifa asked with a smile. "How are you?"

He grimaced as he hopped up onto the bar and looked down at her. "Looking for a job really sucks, Teef. Does Spiky need an extra hand?"

Tifa laughed softly. "I think you two would kill each other after a few hours together."

Reno smirked and nodded. "Yeah, probably. How about you? You got any job openings?"

"Well, I could do with a bar back," she said before smiling. "But it involves handling all my booze and I just don't trust you with that."

He covered his heart in mock desperation. "Babe, I'm hurt."

"Aw, did I hurt your feelings?" she asked with a smile.

He nodded with a wicked grin curling around his lips. "I think you should kiss me and make it all better."

"Okay, but didn't Loz already threaten to rearrange your face if you kissed me? And he is a Picasso sort of artist," Tifa said sweetly.

"Damn, totally not worth it," Reno said as he cleared his throat.

"Hey why don't you ask Jake for a job?" Tifa asked seriously.

Reno dropped the joking as well. "I could do that. Do you think Rufus will let him hire me?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Rufus doesn't own the world, no matter _how_ much he may want to."

"I got off lightly, Teef," Reno pointed out. "The old Rufus would have had me killed for what I did."

"That's the thing," Tifa said. "You didn't do anything wrong. They were going to kill Cloud and Loz in a vain attempt to stop Sephiroth. You did the right thing in trying to give us as much of a head start as possible."

"I'm glad someone appreciates my efforts," Reno said with a smile. "So how is everything going between you and Sideburns? Are we going to hear any wedding bells soon or what babe?"

Tifa laughed and shook her head. "Seriously Reno? Loz and I are taking this slow. We're just having fun and for now that's enough."

"And Spiky? What's he think about all this?" Reno asked.

"Cloud is actually picking up Fenrir right now from Loz," she said with a smile.

Reno raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? He _willingly_ let Sideburns touch his bike? They've come a long way."

* * *

Cloud stepped into the workshop and immediately spotted Loz at the back. "Hey, Loz."

Loz looked up and smiled. "So, what do you think?"

Cloud smiled slightly. "I like it. I don't know what you did to the engine but it sounds brand new."

"You just have to show it some love," Loz said with a shrug. "A good cleaning doesn't hurt either. I think when I tuned it I was able to get you a little more torque out of those pistons."

"Well, it's great, whatever you did," Cloud said. He looked over Loz's shoulder and smiled slightly. "Is that it?"  
Loz looked over his shoulder too and smiled as he looked at Tifa's old bike. "Yeah. It's pretty kickass too."

"Tifa won't even recognize it," Cloud said as he stepped closer and examined the now blue, almost black bike.

"Do you think she'll like it?" Loz asked nervously.

"Are you kidding?" Cloud asked. "She'll love it."

"I hope so," Loz said with a sigh.

Cloud turned and looked at him. "You once asked me if I could ever forgive you and I said maybe one day."

Loz nodded and leaned on the edge of his worktable. "I remember that."

Cloud nodded and held out his hand. "I think that day is here." He waited for a moment as Loz looked at his outstretched hand. Cloud smirked slightly before saying, "Isn't this how regular people seal a deal?"

Loz smirked at Cloud asking him the same question he had once posed to Cloud. He reached out and shook his hand. "I promise I won't let you down, Cloud."

"You better not," Cloud said seriously. "I still love Tifa and I always will so you better not hurt her or we'll have problems."  
"If I hurt her, you'll have to wait in line to kick my ass," Loz said dryly. "Right behind Marlene. She is very much like her father."

Cloud nodded and smirked. "That she is. Are you almost done?"

Loz pushed away from the table and nodded. "Yeah, I'm just about to turn it on and see if I have to do anymore tuning. Did you give Jake the money?"  
Cloud nodded. "As soon as it's up to your standards, we can go."

Loz straddled the bike and turned the key. He smiled and looked at Cloud who smiled as well. Loz revved the engine, listening for any sound that was out of place. He finally cut the engine and looked up at Cloud.

"Sounds good to me," Loz said with a smile.

"Then let's go," Cloud said.

* * *

Reno was putting the chairs on the floor in Seventh Heaven when Cloud and Loz walked in. Reno smirked when he saw them smiling and Loz was even _laughing_.

"Aw you two as such a cute couple," Reno said as he made kissing sounds.

"Shouldn't you be looking for a job?" Cloud asked pointedly.

"I'm trying to convince Tifa to hire me as her bar back," Reno said with a wink.

Cloud's eyes widened slightly. "Tifa! You're not seriously considering hiring this walking hormone as a bar back are you?"

Tifa appeared in the doorway and smiled as she walked over to Reno before putting her arm around him. "Well, he's kinda cute and he always pays me lots of compliments…it's kinda nice!"

Loz and Cloud looked at each other and each raised an eyebrow before turning their glares on Reno.

"Yikes! If looks could kill I would have just been drawn and quartered babe!" Reno said. "I'm just helping out since I have no life anymore. Besides, you two were late and I didn't want to miss out on our surprise, yo!"

Tifa quirked an eyebrow and looked at all three men. "Surprise? What surprise?"

"Well, we all thought that between the three of us, we had put you through enough to justify killing each of us a hundred times over," Cloud said. "So we got you something."

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, it's outside," Loz said with a smile.

Tifa followed the guys outside and gasped when she saw a brand new motorbike in front of the bar. "This is…the most beautiful bike I have ever seen!"

"Thanks," Loz said with a smile. "I made it for you."

She looked up at him and smiled in surprise. "You made it?"

He nodded. "It's your old bike."

"What? But I sold it to Jake," she said.

"And we bought it," Reno said.

"So we could give it to you," Cloud said. He looked at the other two guys before looking at Tifa's stunned face. "I've been a mopey, self-centered jerk for so long and you never left me Tifa."

"And I nearly destroyed you in a church, kidnapped Marlene, help turn Denzel into a mindless zombie, and killed Cloud," Loz said. "Yet, you saw past all that to see what I could be in this life."

"And I tried to kill you," Reno said. "Never mind dropping the plate in Sector Seven. And you still talk to me and treat me like a friend. So you deserve a token of our appreciation for what you do for all of us."

Tifa brushed the tear that had fallen onto her cheek away before hugging and kissing Cloud, Loz, and Reno.

"You guys are amazing and I love you all!" Tifa said before approaching her bike. She gently ran her hand over the fender and along the handlebar.

"Reno and I can look after the bar tonight, Tifa," Cloud said. "You and Loz should go for a ride."

"But neither of you can tend bar," Tifa said.

"I talked to a bartender who does all the Shinra get togethers and he agreed to come in for the night," Reno said with a smile. "And don't worry, Rufus okayed it. I told you he's really not that bad."

Tifa relented and happily took the keys from Loz. She inserted them into the ignition and started the engine. She looked up and smiled at Loz. "It hasn't sounded this good in a long time. Hop on and lets see what this bad boy can do."

Reno and Cloud watched Tifa and Loz take off on the bike. Cloud went back into the bar once the pair was out of sight.

"Still hurts to see him with her like that?" Reno asked as he locked the door behind him.

Cloud shook his head. "No, but I still wonder how I never noticed just how special she was. I'm happy for her."

"Tifa being off the market is a loss to men everywhere," Reno joked. But then he became serious. "She's a great gal and she is the first woman I have ever been just happy to have as a friend."

Cloud nodded. "She really is one of a kind."

"Sideburns really loves her though," Reno said as he sat beside Cloud on the stools in front of the bar.

"Yeah," Cloud said thoughtfully. He leaned over and grabbed two shot glasses and a bottle of whisky. He poured two shots and handed one to Reno before lifting his own glass. "To the woman we loved, but lost because deep down, we're pussies."

Reno smirked and touched his glass to Cloud's. "I'll drink to that, yo."

* * *

Tifa cut the engine and waited for Loz to dismount before doing so herself. She smiled up at the man who had once terrified her. He smiled back at her as he gently placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him. His skin and eyes glowed from the light of the trees surrounding the Forgotten City. His eyes were her favorite feature now. After the mako had faded, they had permanently returned to the pale color they had been when he was just a remnant, but his pupils were still round. And there was a warmth in them that made Tifa melt because it was a loving warmth…love he felt for her.

"You guys are really sweet," she said with a smile.

"You make us that way," he assured her.

"I'm glad you came back," she whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Me too," he said. He shifted slightly and drew her over to the lake. He lowered himself to the ground and she did the same. He looked at her nervously. "So, I was wondering something."

She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said. "Would you like to help me look for a new apartment?"

She frowned and looked up at him. "Why? I thought you liked being close to work."

He shrugged. "I do. But it's kind of a small. I was hoping to find maybe a three-bedroom place. You know, enough room for me and another adult, maybe a little girl and a little boy?"

Her confused frown melted into a smile. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"

He shrugged as he looked across the lake. "Maybe." He turned and looked down at her. "Is it too soon?"

Tifa shook her head. "No. But I thought you liked having a place for just yourself."

"Well, I was thinking about it the other day," he said. "We have a routine. I go to work, come over to your place and eat with you and the kids, you work and I hang out until closing. Then we go upstairs and play, which is my favorite part of the day, by the way, and then the next day I go back to work and the cycle starts again. I really only go home to change my clothes, so I figured, maybe, we could just live together and I didn't think Cloud would be excited to be living with us. I mean, he seems to be starting to like me and I don't want to wreck it."

Tifa thought for a moment. "How about you move in with me and we'll see if Cloud wants to move into your place? Cloud is rarely home with his deliveries and he has the office at Seventh Heaven so he can still see the kids whenever he wants."

Loz smiled and nodded. "I like the sounds of that."

Tifa snuggled closer to him and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said as he kissed the top of her head.

They sat there beside the lake just enjoying the silence they shared. As Loz looked across the lake, he saw Yazoo and Kadaj leaning against the trees.

_Enjoy living, Loz,_ Yazoo said with a smile.

_You've earned this,_ Kadaj added before both brothers pushed away from the trees and walked towards the increasingly bright light behind them.

Yazoo stopped and faced Loz once more with a teasing smirk. _Oh, and don't cry anymore, Loz._

Loz smirked as they disappeared from sight. He turned and looked down at Tifa and she just smiled up at him contentedly. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and sighed happily. _No more crying, Yazoo. I promise,_ Loz thought to himself, excited to see what his future had in store for him.


End file.
